Albus Potter and the Forbidden Tower
by JP-9944
Summary: School is in session again, and Albus Potter along wih his best friends, Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy have returned to Hogwarts. However, the mysterious appearance of an eerie tower causes panic and fear amongst the teachers and students...
1. Chapter One: Teddy's Trouble

ALBUS POTTER

_And The Forbidden Tower _

**Based on the characters, places and ideas of J.K. Rowling**

_**-Chapter One-**_

_**Teddy's Trouble **_

It was the last week of summer; the sunset was a beautiful mixture of orange and purple, spread across the dark blue sky. A few stars were already visible, and a young man was walking down a side street in a Muggle subdivision.

The young man's twentieth birthday had been two weeks before; he'd celebrated it with his family and friends. He wore a dark hoodie with a silver crescent moon on the back, and the hood up. This looked odd, seeing as it was still warm summer weather.

He wore fairly tight jeans that had deliberate tears for style; his Converse All-Stars were the final touch that made him look completely like a Muggle. The hoodie was zipped up halfway; beneath it, a black t-shirt with the band logo for the Weird Sisters could be seen. In the front pocket of the hoodie, the young man's wand was kept.

He had an adventurous, handsome face-- but his eyes had a look of tiredness to them. On his chin he had a small bit of turquoise beard, which matched his turquoise hair.

Teddy Lupin had, in his left pocket, a golden wedding ring with a small ruby set on top. He'd bought it in Diagon Alley that very day. He was planning on giving it to his girlfriend, Victoire Weasley. He would then propose to her.

Teddy was on duty on this fine night; he had been promoted in the ranks of Auror over the passed summer. He was undercover in this small, suburban Muggle town. He was supposed to head through this quiet neighbourhood and make sure everything was as it should be. Apparently, an eccentric old witch who was enchanting Muggle pots and pans to attack pedestrians resided here. As long as he didn't see anything out of the ordinary by eight o'clock, Teddy could return to the Ministry.

Then he would be off duty. He sighed, thinking of Victoire; his grandmother, Andromeda, had raised him; it was her alone who knew that Teddy would be proposing.

He checked the digital watch on his wrist, the one that Arthur Weasley had given to him when he was a little boy-- it had fascinated both of them, and still, to this day, Teddy found use in what most of the other Weasley's called rubbish.

It was a quarter to eight. Teddy was practically itching to see Victoire; she had graduated from Hogwarts, and was now eighteen years old. She and Teddy lived together on an island a few miles from Shell Cottage, where Victoire had grown up with her family.

Teddy stopped walking, and looked around. He was back where he'd started, at the top of Havenburg Avenue. It was now ten to eight.

"That'll do for tonight," he said briskly, hoping his godfather, Harry Potter, wouldn't give him trouble for leaving early. As he prepared to Apparate, someone spoke to him.

"Excuse me, sir," said a tall man in a dark business suit. "Could I bother you for the time?"

Teddy glanced down at his watch-- a bad mistake.

"It's ten to--"

CRACK!

Teddy was lying on his back in the ditch in front of a house. Tying him up with ropes from his wand, the wizard in Muggle clothes grinned evilly, and Apparated with Teddy from the spot.

Hours passed. It was now a cool, clear night. At around eleven o'clock, two loud _pops_, five seconds apart could be heard faintly. Standing under the last street light on the corner of Havenburg Avenue were two wizards.

Both were tall men, one with black hair and glasses, and the other with red hair. The one with the glasses had a faint scar on his forehead; both wizards wore travel cloaks.

"You search that end of the subdivision," said Harry, "And I'll search this end. He's got to be somewhere around here. It's not like Teddy to just leave duty and not let us know."

Ron reached into his pocket and pulled out a Deluminator, the one he'd received from Albus Dumbledore. He clicked it once, and started stealing the light from each street lamp up the avenue.

Finally, he clicked the Deluminator shut and pocketed it. "Meet back here in ten minutes," he said. Harry nodded. "Ok."

They departed, but neither of them found any trace of Teddy. Ron even asked the old witch who'd been bewitching pots and pans; she hadn't been visited by any wizards all day.

"Where in Merlin's beard is he?" Asked Harry. "I'm starting to get really worried…"

Ron pinched the bridge of his nose. "Come on," he said finally. "Let's check back in with the Ministry."

Harry sighed. "But Kingsley said he'd send his Patronus with word if Teddy showed up. Do you see a great silver lynx?"

They stood in silence for a moment, while Ron clicked the Deluminator and shot the orbs of light back into each street light. "Sorry," muttered Harry. "It's just really stressful. You're right; let's go back to the Ministry."

They each Apparated from the street, and by morning the Sunday issue of the _Daily Prophet _had Teddy's smiling face on the front, and the headline 'A_UROR MISSING WHILE ON DUTY_'_. _


	2. Chapter Two: Number 7 Griffin Lane

_**-Chapter Two-**_

_**Number Seven Griffin Lane**_

Albus Potter woke up, yawning and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He looked around his bedroom.

It was a warm, peaceful Sunday morning in the all-wizarding village of Godric's Hollow. Just months before Al's birth, the village officially became an all-magical village. It, along with Hogsmeade, was one of the last few in Britain.

Al wore a white, airy t-shirt that was too long on him and a pair of baggy blue pyjama pants.

His bright green eyes shone as he opened the curtains of his bedroom; he lived with his parents, Harry and Ginny Potter, his older brother James Potter, and his little sister Lily Potter.

The family lived in a fair-sized, white two-story house on a small, winding street called Griffin Lane. The roof of the house was a dark shade of pine green, and on the painted white door was a golden metal number 7, which hung slightly crooked.

The house had a small garage for Harry's motorcycle, and in the driveway the Potter family car was parked. The front lawn was a nice size, and the backyard was quite large. On the front of the house, on the upper part two windows could be seen. The one on the left had green and silver curtains, sewn by Grandma Weasley for Albus after he was sorted into Slytherin House.

The one on the right had a small crack in the glass, and a worn frame; this was James's bedroom. The crack was from a Quidditch game over the summer-- James had thrown the Snitch at his brother after he caught it out of frustration, since Al was constantly causing him to miss the small golden ball.

Al's bedroom was normal sized and very neat; it had a desk, dresser, closet, and bunk bed in case a relative or friend of Al was staying the night.

Hanging up in the closet were Al's Hogwarts robes, bought brand new from Diagon Alley a week before. On the floor at the end of his bed, his trunks and bags of clothing and books were all packed for school. An owl cage hung from the ceiling above Al's desk, which was littered in parchment, bottles of ink and quills (Al's homework for the summer).

In the cage, an owl slept soundly. It was a dark-coloured owl called Wulfric that Al's mother Ginny had purchased for him on his first trip to Diagon Alley the previous summer. Al dropped some owl treats into the cage, and when his owl awoke it would have a snack waiting.

James's bedroom was where Harry's old nursery had been, and where the curse had backfired and stripped Voldemort from his body. It was now a large, messy room with many products from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes littering the floor, under the bed and the desk.

At the back of the house, there was a small but new-looking deck and a swing set in the backyard for Lily; in the middle of the yard there was a fire pit. On the back part of the house there were two more windows on the upper floor; the one on the left was Lily's bedroom, which was less cluttered than James's but messier than Al's.

The room on the right had once been Harry's parents bedroom, but was now Harry's and Ginny's. The four rooms were divided by a hallway, which, at the end of, a single staircase led downstairs.

The lower floor of the house had a bathroom, a large living room and fireplace, and a kitchen. The living room walls were full of moving photos of Harry, Ginny, their children, and the extended family. Above the fireplace, a moving picture of the original Order of the Phoenix, the second Order, and one of Harry's parents, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin were all side-by-side.

Al got dressed and thought about the next day; Monday, September 1st. It would be tomorrow that he and his brother returned to Hogwarts, along with their cousins Fred, Louis, Dominique, and Rose.

Victoire Weasley, the oldest of the Weasley grandchildren had finished attending Hogwarts. She was eighteen years old, and lived with her boyfriend Teddy Lupin on an island close to her parents, Bill and Fleur Weasley. Victoire was also Al's godmother.

Al went downstairs and went to the kitchen, where his mother was usually seen making breakfast. The clock on the wall said it was almost nine thirty.

"Mum?" Albus called as he headed through the house looking for his parents. He finally found his mother up in Lily's room with James and Lily, discussing something with them.

"Oh, Al, you're up," she said. She had a sad look on her face; Al entered the room. "What's going on, Mum?"

She sighed. "It's Teddy, honey," she said. "He went missing last night while he was on duty in a Muggle town."

Al's jaw dropped. His parents had made young Teddy Al's godfather even though he'd only been a child. "What happened to him?" Asked Al. "Where is he?"

Ginny looked away. "We don't know, Al. It's all over the _Prophet_, and your father hasn't left the Ministry since yesterday afternoon; they've got most of the Auror Department out looking for him.

Al could see that Lily had been crying; her eyes were red. "It's alright, Lil," he said. "They'll find him."

But even Al was having trouble believing that; it wasn't everyday that a skilled wizard like Teddy just went missing. James shook his head as he left the room. "What a terrible way to start school." Al looked back at his mother. "How's Victoire taking it?" He asked. Ginny blew her nose and said, "Not very well; she's staying with her parents again. She's been sobbing all night according to Uncle Bill; he told your father at work. I just got a letter from him before you woke up."

Al turned and left the room. Teddy had been only eight years old when Al had been born. When he was ten and Albus was two, Harry asked Teddy to be godfather of his son, as Harry was Teddy's godfather. When they'd started dating, Harry made Victoire godmother.

Now, Albus was twelve and Teddy was twenty. He had a very strong relationship with his godfather, and had received his top-of-the-line racing broom the previous Christmas, the Thunderflash, from Teddy. The Thunderflash was one of the fastest brooms in the world.

Al sighed and closed his eyes. "What a terrible way to start the school year," he muttered.


	3. Chapter Three: Ottery St Catchpole

_**-Chapter Three-**_

_**Ottery St. Catchpole **_

Monday morning was damp and slightly humid; it was a greyish day and as Al stirred he looked out his window.

It was still slightly dark out. He wondered if it was still night time, but then he checked the clock on his wall, above his bedroom door. It was a quarter after five.

Yawning, Al decided he'd stay up until seven-- this was when his family would be waking up, getting ready, and getting into the car. From Godric's Hollow to King's Cross station it was an almost two hour drive.

This meant they had time to stop in Ottery St. Catchpole, a semi-magical, semi-Muggle village. Here, Luna Scamander and her husband Rolf lived with their twin sons, Lorcan and Lysander. They lived in the old house of Xenophilius Lovegood, who had long since returned to his childhood, all-wizarding town of Mould-on-the-Wold.

Al got dressed into his robes, and pocketed his wand-- the core of which was three long unicorn tail hairs. The wand had never failed him, and he kept it very safe.

As he made his way downstairs, Albus called, "Mum? I'm ready to go."

His mother appeared, yawning and holding a cup of coffee. "I saw the kitchen light on," said Al. "You're up?" Ginny nodded. "I couldn't sleep, dear. Just worried about Teddy, that's all… it's like the war all over again. People disappearing…"

Al shook his head vigorously. "Mum, only one person disappeared. And it was Teddy-- he's a fully trained Auror, a Metamorphmagus, and a skilled wizard. He'll be alright, just wait and see."

Ginny told Al that his father had returned late that night. "He got in at around two o'clock," she said. "He was exhausted. I've never seen him so tired. He fell asleep on the couch."

Al nodded. "Has he got any idea about what happened to Teddy?" He asked. Ginny shook her head slowly. "Nobody has any leads."

They entered the kitchen and Ginny said something about jumping in the bath and getting James up. She said Harry probably wouldn't be accompanying them to Platform 9 ¾ this year; he was still sleeping after Al, James (who was sleepy and mumbling about his glasses being left on the top of the brazzleberry tree) brought their trunks down stairs.

Holding his owl's cage in one hand, Al brought his things out to the car. As they were placed in the trunk and backseats, which magically expanded to fit the four Potters, Al saw a brown, fat cat walking around the driveway. It yawned and ran into the house; this was the family cat, Cecil. Cecil was a normal cat, but Ginny was constantly talking to their neighbour, a witch named Fiona. She owned a variety of cats and Kneazles; Kneazles were cat-like creatures with magical abilities. Ginny wanted to breed Cecil with one of Fiona's Kneazles.

Once everything was packed and double-checked, James got in the front seat next to his mother, leaving his younger siblings to share the back. It was quite cramped between two people, the luggage and the two owl cages.

Al ran back inside quickly to say goodbye to his father, who he wouldn't be seeing until Christmas holidays.

"Dad?" He whispered as he entered the living room, which was dark. On the couch, beneath a comforter was his sleeping father. Harry looked very overworked; he opened his eyes and reached for his glasses, which lay on the table beside him.

"It's me, Al," said Albus. His father smiled, and said, "Hey, son. Getting ready to go?" Al nodded. "Yeah. We're all in the car. James says bye, he's practically itching to get on the train."

Laughing, Harry picked up a copy of that morning's issue of the _Daily Prophet_, which was lying open on the table. Adjusting his glasses, Harry's expression went grim as he read the headline: _SEARCH CONTINUES FOR YOUNG AUROR, TEDDY LUPIN._

"Still talking about it, are they?" He muttered, his eyes scanning the paragraphs. "Your mother told you then, did she?"

Albus nodded again, and Harry patted his son on the shoulder. "It's alright. We'll find him, don't worry. With Riddle gone, what's the worst that can happen to the world, right?"

Al forced a smile, and his father glanced back at the paper. "Go on, Al," he said. "Have a good time this year. Do well in your classes, and give my best to Rose and Scorpius."

Al hugged his father and replied, "I will. Bye, Dad."

He left the room, and outside he got into the car with his siblings and mother. Ginny drove down the small street out onto a main road that would eventually take them across some Muggle highways into Ottery St. Catchpole. At around nine thirty they were pulling into the Scamander's driveway.

The tall, dark home of Luna and Rolf gave Al a funny mixture of feelings; the house was shaped like a chess rook. As they knocked on the door, Luna answered and invited them in. "Coffee, Ginny?" She asked after hugging her old friend. Ginny nodded. "Oh, thanks Luna. How's Rolf?" A balding man, who's thick hair only covered the sides and back of his head entered the room. His hair was a tawny colour, a mixture of reddish-gold and brown. He had a messy goatee. He smiled. "Fine, thanks."

His twin sons had inherited his hair colour, but had their mother's drowsy sort of eyes. According to Luna, the boys were upstairs asleep.

"Will you be meeting Ron and Hermione at the station?" Asked Luna. Ginny shook her head. "No, at their house actually. From there we're all heading to King's Cross."

Nodding, Luna said, "Come in, come in! Have some tea or coffee if you'd like."

They stayed and talked for awhile, and eventually the boys woke up and came down to play with Ginny and Al in the backyard, which was full of small, but sometimes dangerous magical creatures. The twins knew everything about each creature, and could handle them easily.

James came out from the backdoor and shouted, "Lily! Al! We're leaving." They said goodbye to the twins, and left the Scamander house to head a few streets over. Still only part-wizarding village, there were Muggles out and about this morning, too.

They pulled up to the small bungalow that Ron, Hermione and their children lived in.

On the front lawn, Hugo was playing with one of their Muggle neighbours. He ran over to say hello, and then lead his relatives inside to see Ron and Hermione.

Albus's aunt Hermione was a pretty witch with long, wavy brown hair. It had long since been bushy-- but her hair would never be completely straight, like Ginny's. She looked tired, and was still wearing her nightgown.

"Come on," she said, yawning. "When do you have to be at work, Ginny?"

Al's mother entered, gesturing for her children to follow suit and take their shoes off at the door. "No work today. They let me take today off, for the kids." Ron entered, already dressed. He held a buttered slice of toast in his hand and in the other he held a cup of coffee, almost completely black. "Morning," he said to them as they all passed. Hugo ran over to his father and hugged him, saying, "Bye, Daddy."

Ron patted his son on the back and said, "See you soon, Hugo. Remember-- you'll be off with your sister and cousins next year."

Hugo went out to play with Lily and his neighbour. Al entered the kitchen with James and his mother.

Rose Weasley, Al's cousin entered the room. She had just turned twelve over the summer, and she smiled at her cousins. "Hey, Al!" She said, hugging him. "James, did you have a good summer?"

James shrugged. "It was alright."

They left their mothers to discuss Teddy's disappearance, while they all headed outside. Rose, like Al, wore her Hogwarts robes. James had on a t-shirt and a dark jacket; his jeans were new-looking.

"So, do you know which electives you'll be taking?" Asked Rose as James twirled his wand between his fingers. "Huh? Oh, uh, I think Care of Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes. According to Uncle Charlie and your mum, Runes is fascinating."

Rose laughed. "And hard. Remember, my mum also finds Arithmancy interesting, and I'm still lost when it comes to that."

James shrugged. "Better than Divination. Trelawney's gotten even nuttier over the years."

"I'm obviously taking Care of Magical Creatures," said Al. "Hagrid's going to be teaching it, right?"

Nodding, Rose replied, "Of course. He'll never give up the post-- he loves the job too much."

As they discussed classes some more, Ginny's voice rang from the kitchen window. "Kids, come on! We're leaving!"


	4. Chapter Four: Family Ties

_**-Chapter Four-**_

_**Family Ties**_

King's Cross station was full of the usual amount of Muggles. As they headed through the crowds of magical folk disguised as Muggles, as well as the real Muggles themselves, the Potters and the Weasley's stopped at the blank wall between platforms nine and ten.

"Alright, you know the drill," murmured Hermione to Rose. Her daughter nodded, and the two of them broke into a neat stride, and were gone beyond the wall in a few moments.

Hugo hurried along with Lily and his aunt, leaving James and Albus alone on the platform. "Come on," said James, nodding toward the barrier. "It's ten to eleven."

The pushed their trolleys, and each broke into a jog. They emerged at the same time on the other side of the wall, standing on Platform 9 ¾. Ginny called from up ahead to her sons.

"Come on, now!" She shouted. "You're going to miss it!"

Tossing their luggage to tall, uniformed wizards, Al and his brother turned to their mother. They hugged her at the same time, and she kissed them both on the forehead. "Tell dad I'll write to him the first night back," said Al. His mother smiled. "I will. And don't you two worry about Teddy… we'll find him."

Giving his sister a brief but warm hug, James said, "Help mum out around the house if dad's going to be at work overtime," he instructed, and his little sister replied, "I will. Have fun at Hogwarts."

Hugo waved to both his cousins, and hugged his sister. They all got on board, and as Al and Rose separated from James, they heard a familiar voice from a nearby compartment.

"Rose! Al!"

Spinning around, they saw their best friend, Scorpius Malfoy. The boy was a splitting image of his father; he had grown an inch or two over the summer, and his white-blond hair looked longer, but still fell handsomely over his face. Flicking his bangs to the side, Scorpius blinked; he had inherited his mother's dark blue eyes-- they were so dark, they were almost black.

He smiled welcomingly and let them in; Rose hugged Scorpius, who blushed, and Al shook his friend's hand. "Alright?" He asked as they sat down. Scorpius nodded in reply, and answered, "Good summer. How was yours?"

Al glanced out the window as the steam started to thicken; a few loud whistles were blown, and he said, "Fine, up until yesterday morning. Did you hear about Teddy Lupin going missing?"

Scorpius looked grim. "I did. My parents were reading about it all yesterday. How is it you two know him?"

Rose looked up from her small book bag, a knapsack she wore at all times. "He's a very close friend of the family," she said. "He's dating our cousin Victoire, he's my Uncle Harry's godson, and he's Al's godfather."

Whistling in surprise, Scorpius said, "Sounds pretty close. Is he related to any of you by blood?" Shaking his head, Al stopped and suddenly looked around. "Dad brought me to Grimmauld Place a couple years ago," he said. "Showed me the Black family tree."

Rose closed her book and set it on her lap. "And?" She asked. Al continued, "Teddy's one of the descendants of the Black family… one of the last. His mother was Sirius Black's cousin. That makes him distantly related to us." Catching on, Rose added quickly, "And you, Scorpius!" He looked from Al to Rose, completely awestruck. The train had started rolling out of the station; Al, Scorpius and Rose all waved to their parents, then turned back to face each other.

"What makes you say that?" Asked Scorpius. Rose smiled. "Your grandmother was Teddy's great-aunt," she concluded.

Shocked, Scorpius spluttered, "So that makes me-- " Al finished for him. "Teddy's second cousin."

They were all silent; Rose suddenly laughed, and said, "If I'm related to Teddy through my dad's family," she said slowly, "Then you're related to him on your mum's side, Al. Which means we're also related to Scorpius-- distantly, that is." They were all stunned. Al looked slightly confused, but after awhile he grinned. "Welcome to the family," he said with a laugh.

Scorpius didn't seem very happy, though. "How come if I'm so closely related to Teddy, I've never met him?" He asked. Looking at each other, Rose and Al replied, "Your parents probably didn't consider him family. Generations ago, they disowned Teddy's mother, and his grandmother, who he was raised by."

For the rest of the train ride, they discussed other possible connections to each other; Al and Rose were wondering who Al's great-grandparents were on his father's side; Scorpius continued asking questions about other relatives he may have-- and not know about.

As they pulled into Hogsmeade station, Scorpius returned wearing his brand new Slytherin robes. The three of them headed off the train and out to the carriages, which were pulled by Thestrals.

"So it's not a charm," said Scorpius, pointing at the front of the moving carriage. Rose shook her head. "Oh, no. Thestrals are gentle creatures that are invisible to anyone who hasn't witnessed a death." This made Scorpius go a little pale; Rose rolled her eyes. "No wonder you weren't a Gryffindor," she muttered as the carriage started moving a bit faster up the cliffs to Hogwarts.

"Thank God we can't see them," said Scorpius. Al shivered at the prospect of a large, skeletal winged-horse. As he shook the idea from his mind, he smiled at the sight of the tall, dark towers of Hogwarts in front of them.


	5. Chapter Five: Arrival

_**-Chapter Five-**_

_**Arrival **_

The carriages dropped them off in order; the second years to fifth years were dropped off first, then the sixth and seventh years were brought up.

Al and Scorpius fell into a line of Slytherin second years, while Rose joined her fellow Gryffindors. Al saw his cousin Louis, the younger brother of Victoire in the Hufflepuff line; he'd grown slimmer and taller over the holidays, and his hair had been trimmed-- but it remained long.

With the other Gryffindor third years, James moved slowly beside his cousin Rose's line. Al saw his other cousin, Fred Weasley, in a line of fourth year Gryffindors. Fred and James were best friends. Fred's afro-like hair was still flaming red, like his other family members; he'd bewitched it a few years before to match the other Weasley's.

Sliding his hand into his robe pocket, Al twiddled his wand as he moved slowly in the line behind Scorpius. Finally, they picked up the pace and the second year Slytherins were all standing in the Great Hall.

They took their seats at the House table, and after all of the students were seated and quiet, the line of first years entered. Albus saw a few familiar faces, friends of the family and some new students. Many of them were Muggle-born, and had never set foot in Hogwarts once before-- or held a wand, more less.

Al saw that a few rows down the table, third years Isaac Sheerbourne, Derek Cevnisk and Buzz Crow. Buzz and Derek had similar haircuts, but Buzz's was shorter. They went by their last names.

Isaac glared at Al, who turned his gazed back to the Sorting Ceremony. It wrapped up faster than it had the year before, and Professor Thomas O'Leary stood up, ready to give his start-of-the-year speech.

"Welcome back," he said loudly, and he silenced the chatting students. "We have some announcements to make, as always… First and foremost, many of you are probably aware of what occurred last year in the Chamber of Secrets, a magically shielded, off-limits chamber beneath the school." Students all listened intently; many eyes were on Al, Scorpius and Rose.

"The Chamber has since been destroyed, caved in completely. It no longer exists here. Hogwarts is safe once more. On a happier note, I'd like to congratulate our Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Retskope, and our Herbology teacher, Professor Longbottom. Both received the Order of Merlin over the summer, so if you'd join me in congratulating them…" The hall burst into applause; both the Slytherin students and the Gryffindors stood up and applauded their Heads of Houses. O'Leary continued, "Professor Longbottom received the Order of Merlin, second class for saving the lives of three Muggles over the summer holidays; he and his wife were vacationing near a Muggle village, where a small colony of Dementors attacked. His Patronus fended them off, and for his brave rescue and saving of their souls, the Ministry awarded Professor Longbottom."

Neville smiled and waved at the students, while O'Leary continued, "Professor Retskope received the Order of Merlin, third class for his act of courage a few years ago, saving a Hawaiian village from a Lethifold. The Order was delayed due to complications with the Muggle residents of the village."

More light applause echoed round the Hall as Retskope nodded and smiled at the students.

"As always, any products from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, the joke shop on Diagon Alley, will be confiscated by our caretaker Hodge. The Forbidden Forest, as always--"

A sudden voice rang through the Great Hall, cutting off O'Leary. Heads turned, and running between the Ravenclaw and Slytherin tables, Hodge huffed and puffed loudly. "Headmaster," he said hastily; he looked terrified, and he whispered something urgently in O'Leary's ear.

The headmaster went quite pale; his eyes widened, and he said loudly, "Students, the feast is cancelled. Teachers, please conjure sleeping bags for the students in the Great Hall… Professor Clearwater, use an Expanding Charm on the walls to fit all of them. We are on a complete lockdown, no one is to leave the Great Hall. Teachers and staff, patrol the borders."

The only teachers that accompanied O'Leary were Longbottom and Retskope; Even Hodge, who had informed him of the problem stayed in the Great Hall, his face white as a ghost's.

As students hustled and bustled about, teachers tried to calm everybody and perform spells to conjure sleeping bags and pillows.

The enchanted night sky that was the ceiling of the Great Hall was cloudy and dark this evening; As the chaos continued, Professor Wrightmore conjured invisible barriers in the doorways so students couldn't leave; Hodge closed the tall, oak-front doors at the entrance of the school, and latched every lock.

As they all started getting into their sleeping bags, Scorpius turned to Al. "What d'you think is happening?" He asked, and Al shrugged, looking at his cousin. She shook her head, mouth slightly agape. "I don't know, either."

Hodge was sitting at the Hufflepuff table, breathing fast and staring at the floor. Al approached him. "Er-- Mr, um, Hodgeton?"

Hodge turned. "Aye?" He muttered. Al looked over his shoulder at the many students waiting for him to pursue Hodge into speaking. "What's happened?"

Hodge looked up. "It appeared out of nowhere… just, suddenly, was _there_." Horrifying… like ten Azkaban's in one… can't ever begin to describe…"

He trailed off, his bloodshot eyes brimming with tears. He hid his face while he dried them, and shock was displayed on the faces of every other student and teacher in the Great Hall.

Professor Fletchley, who taught Muggle studies, approached Hodge. "Wallace," he said uncertainly. The caretaker looked up at him. "What is it, though? What did you see?"

Standing up, Hodge waved his wand (which he held in a shaking hand) at the stained glass window on the other side of the Hall. The glass vanished, and cool air soon filled the Hall. Scrambling to get a good view, the students dashed toward the window, and even some of the teachers forgot what O'Leary had said.

Outside, in the distance was the Forbidden Forest. A hundred yards in, standing at over fifty feet high was a dark, tall stone tower; it's tip was hidden in the dark clouds. All around the circular wall, at around the fifty foot mark were ten windows; there was no glass in them, and they appeared to be only large enough for a small animal to fit through.

In front of each, hovering menacingly and disturbingly were Dementors, one for each window. They simply hovered there, eerily waiting.

Etched in a spiralling, looping way up the tower were ancient letters and symbols.

O'Leary, from the edge of the forest jabbed his wand in the direction of the Great Hall, and they were sealed in again. When he'd looked upon the tower, Albus had received a cold chill up his spine. A loud uproar broke out in the Hall.

"What is it?"

"Where'd it come from, do you think?" "Those Dementors! Did you _see _them?!"

But many of the students and teachers were shaking their heads with confusion. "What?" Asked Professor Wrightmore. "What is it? I didn't see anything."

Professors Fletchley and Whitby couldn't see the tower either. Some of the students were asking what it was, too; Rose was looking at Scorpius and Al in confusion.

"What are you talking about?" She asked. "There's nothing there."

Through the confusion, no one noticed Hodge standing up. "Only some of you can see it!" He yelled hysterically, his eyes popping out of his head. "Those who've witnessed a death in their life can see 'em. Like those Thestrals."

O'Leary entered the Hall, accompanied by Retskope and Longbottom-- both of them looking very pale.

"Students," said O'Leary loudly, "We do not know who or what has created this structure. However, students will not be permitted on this side of the castle or yards," he gestured to the side of the yards outside the Great Hall.

"The Forbidden Forest," he continued, "Is not to be approached or entered by any students or staff. In fact, enchantments will be put up around the edge of the forest to block out any who attempt to get to the tower." Retskope stepped up. "It appears," he said, "That, as Wallace stated, only those who have witnessed death can see the tower."

O'Leary finished, "Please, try to get some sleep. We will have the Ministry down here tomorrow."

As they got into their sleeping bags, Rose asked, "Al, how are you able to see it? You've seen someone die?"

Al sighed, thinking hard. "I'm pretty sure," he said, "When I was little. It was when dad brought me to work with him, but I wandered off. There was some big scuffle in the Wizengamot, and when I ran in the Aurors had killed a criminal wizard who had brandished his wand. I saw them taking his body away."

Scorpius added, "And I was with my great-uncle Rabastan over the summer when he died in St. Mungo's. Had him transferred out of Azkaban for his final days; grandma made us go."

He shivered at the thought, and Al said, "Rose, have you ever read about towers like the one in the forest?"

She shook her head. "Believe it or not, Al," she said, "I haven't read anything about this."


	6. Chapter Six: The Ministry At Hogwarts

_**-Chapter Six-**_

_**The Ministry At Hogwarts **_

The effect that the Dementors had on the area surrounding Hogwarts was noticed the next morning. Albus woke up feeling clammy and in a cold sweat; he'd been having a nightmare about the basilisk he'd fought a year before, only it was slithering up the tower in the forest, coiling its body around the large pillar of black stone…

He opened his eyes, panting. Scorpius was in a sleeping bag beside Al, sitting up and looking around as if he'd just woken up.

On the other side of the Hall, Rose was still sleeping, but it was far from a peaceful slumber. She was tossing and turning, mumbling every now and then. Professor Clearwater gently pushed her awake, and she jumped with a start.

As Rose ran a brush through her hair, Scorpius and Al stood up. They found James, Fred and Louis near where Rose had been sleeping.

"Don't see what any of the fuss is about," James was saying as Al, Rose and Scorpius approached him. "An invisible tower shows up, so what? I mean, if only half of us can see it--"

Clearwater was marching passed when she heard this. "That's quite enough, Potter!" She said, causing James to choke on his words. "This is serious dark magic, not to be joked about."

Hodge entered the Hall, four wizards in long cloaks behind him. O'Leary was speaking with one of them; it was a tall black wizard with a bald head and a loop earring. He looked like he'd barely aged in the twenty years since Voldemort was killed.

Kingsley Shackelbolt, the Minister for Magic was wearing gold and violet robes. He held his wand at his side, and in front of him were two female Aurors who often worked with Harry. The last wizard was Percy Weasley, one of Al's many uncles. He was a red-headed man with neat clothing on and a long dark cloak; his horn-rimmed glasses were resting on the bridge of his nose. Percy was the deputy Minister, and thus accompanied Kingsley most of the time. If anything were to happen to Kingsley, Percy would be acting Minister until a new permanent Minister was chosen.

"Albus, Rose," he said briskly as he passed them. He nodded at James, Fred and Louis, and said, "Not to worry."

They exited through the side doors from the Hall, and headed across the yards, toward the forest. It was a cloudy, cold day, and the clouds surrounding the top of the tower vaguely resembled a vicious dog's head.

"That's the omen of death," concluded a bespectacled third year student in Slytherin. "That right there is a Grim."

Thick curtains that couldn't be moved aside were bewitched onto the windows, so that no student could see what was happening outside. Everyone was ordered to stay in the Great Hall for the day, or the first floor for bathrooms.

The house-elves in the kitchens took care of breakfast for the students and staff; everyone was getting sick of being cooped up in the Great Hall. Al barely touched his food; he was thinking about everything that had been occurring lately: Teddy's disappearance, the tower in the forest.

"I said it before we came back," said Al. "It's a terrible way to start a school year. It just doesn't add up…"

O'Leary entered the Hall, followed by the Aurors, the Minister and the two Professors.

Raising his hands above his head, O'Leary shouted, "Quiet, please! The Minister for Magic would like to have a word with all of you." Kingsley nodded and looked around at the students; his expression was grave. "Hello," he said in his deep, comforting voice. "I am Kingsley Shackelbolt, Minister for Magic. Now, right to business…" He surveyed them, and said, "We are currently setting up magical protective barriers around the edge of the forest. All students will be forbidden from the area around this side of the school," he gestured to the Western wall, where the tower loomed in the distance.

"We have recently discovered," he continued, "That it is not possible to get to the top of the tower. We attempted to fly up, which was ineffective. We have not yet found out who, or what is behind the appearance of the tower--"

Hodge's voice echoed through the Hall, and he yelled insanely, "Oh, you don't?! Come now, Minister, think! We've all heard it… nothing more than an old wives tale our dear old mum's told us when we were tykes, to scare us. But we all know what it is…

"We can't see it, unless we've witnessed death. Guarded by the creatures of despair, Dementors; the writing etched on the side--"

"That is enough, Hodge!" Said O'Leary sharply. Hodge turned his head manically, and yelled, "Tell them the truth, Minister! Tell the children we're as good as dead. It's had different names over the centuries… The Ageless Pillar, the Forbidden Tower… we all know it's real, and we all know it's out there." He left the Hall, continue to babble to himself until he was out of earshot; Al got a tingling sensation up the back of his neck. Kingsley continued, "What Hodgeton was referring to was a wizarding myth. It is said that whenever this tower appears near a building or a village, that those near are in mortal peril. If you are able to get to the top of the tower, it is said that a fate worse than death awaits you.

"However, only one who can defeat the evil at the top can cause the tower to disappear from its spot forever. A sort of self-sacrificing act is needed."

O'Leary chimed in. "This, of course, is a rumour," he said. "It should not be taken literally. We will continue with our normal routine tomorrow, attending classes and ignoring the presence of the tower. Hopefully, it will be gone within the month."

Loud, agitated whispers follower; O'Leary hushed everyone, and said, "We are not evacuating the school, seeing as there is no need unless the tower poses a threat. Since we have the best Aurors on it--"

A Ravenclaw student yelled loudly from the crowd, "Get Potter's dad up here! He's the best!"

Loud yells of approval followed, and Al felt his cheeks reddening. As O'Leary silenced the students, Retskope told the Slytherins that classes would resume normally after lunch. He handed out time tables; Al and Scorpius saw that they had a similar amount of classes with the Gryffindors, and thus with Rose. Smiling slightly, Al said, "At least one thing good's happened in the passed couple of days."


	7. Chapter Seven: Nightmares

_**-Chapter Seven-**_

_**Nightmares **_

Their first class after lunch was Defence Against the Dark Arts with Professor Retskope and the Gryffindors.

Of all his teachers, Al had to admit that Retskope was his favourite; even though he'd known Professor Longbottom for as long as he could remember, Retskope and Al had a connection few students had with their teachers.

Caleb Retskope was the Head of Slytherin House, a half-blood wizard who was on good terms with Al's father, Harry (who even admitted that Retskope 'knew his stuff'.)

Retskope was a world-traveller, and had saved multiple wizarding and Muggle communities from dark creatures and wizards. His companion on these trips was his older brother, Xander Retskope. Xander owned the wand shop in Diagon Alley, which he had bought from the late Ollivander. Albus remembered Xander as a very thin man who was close to his brother in age, with a welcoming smile and a strong smell of cologne to him.

Scorpius caught up to Al and Rose in the hallway outside of the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. Rose had dark rings under her eyes from staying up all night; she had been researching the tower that had appeared in the forest the night before.

"I just want to know why it's suddenly appeared here after all this time," she said. "Who's inside it, who controls it, that sort of thing…"

She yawned, and Al looked at Scorpius. "As long as it doesn't involve us stealing a sword from you common room and sneaking down to that thing, go ahead and read up on it."

They entered the classroom, and Retskope appeared behind them, although Al didn't remember seeing his teacher standing there.

This was probably because of Retskope's Time-Turner; he had one of the last few in the world around his neck at all times, in case of emergencies.

Retskope entered, his long hair in a ponytail appearing to be slightly shorter; he'd gotten a trim over the summer, and he now sported a small beard.

Albus smiled as his Head of House took his place behind the desk at the front of the room. He flicked his wand at the board, and chalk-written words appeared. They were starting on their study of non-tradable magical items, most of which were dangerous and dark.

After the lesson, which was mostly just copying notes, Retskope gave them free time. As many students whispered about the tower, Scorpius gazed out the window at it.

"How come if I can't see Thestrals, I can see the tower?" He asked as Al sat down next to him. Retskope was behind them, and he walked up. "I believe it has more complexity to it than what we see; I do not believe in Hodge's proclamation at the feast. I actually think that the tower reveals itself to those it finds worthy, or those it chooses."

Rose piped up. "Professor," she asked, "Are you saying you think that the tower has a mind of its own? A consciousness?"

Retskope looked at the students thoughtfully. "Perhaps," he said. "Perhaps."

**A.S.P. **

Al's other classes simply flew by; he had one class without Rose this year, which was Transfiguration with Professor Whitby. Whitby was Head of Hufflepuff House, and an Animagus. He could transform into a meerkat.

Transfiguration was also the last class of the day. Making his way to the common room, Al bumped into Scorpius, who'd been taking a bathroom break. "Hey," said Scorpius, "Where you heading?"

Al sighed. "I've got a headache," he said. "I'm going to try and lay down. Might miss dinner, actually."

Scorpius's stomach rumbled, and Al grinned. "Have my helpings," he said. Scorpius nodded. "I'll save you some, though. I'll bring them up and when you're awake you can eat."

Al nodded gratefully, and entered the common room. He fell asleep quickly in his bunk, eyes throbbing from the painful headache he had. However, his dreams were far from peaceful.

Like the first dream he'd had, the night before, he saw the large, dark tower in the forest. The letters and symbols engraved in another language that spiralled up the tower were glimmering with what appeared to be blood; it dribbled down the black bricks, onto the earthy forest floor beneath it. A pair of bright, cat-like eyes shone through the darkness at Albus…

Shooting up, Al found himself drenched in sweat and with such a hot fever his forehead burned. He looked around, and found Scorpius setting a plate down on the desk in the room.

"Sorry if I woke you," he said, turning to Al. "I just--"

He looked shocked. "Are you alright?" He asked. Al glanced in a small mirror on the wall under the clock; he was ghostly pale, and his hair was plastered to his forehead from sweat.

"I-- I need help," said Albus, deliriously. Scorpius ran over; Al muttered, "Ret-- Retskope…" and passed out, falling to his side off the bed. Scorpius broke his friend's fall, and stumbled. Both boys were sprawled on the floor. Al was unconscious, and Scorpius stood up, yelling, "Alan! Mitchell!"

Both boys ran in, looking scared when they saw Al. Retskope was in the dormitory shortly after, along with Madam Parvati. After waking Albus up with a small dose of bright blue potion, Parvati handed him thick, dark chocolate. He ate the slab quickly, and the colour returned to his face.

"Come," said Retskope. He led Al away from his friends and into the small office on the other side of the dungeons. They entered, and Retskope closed the door. "Have a seat," he said.

Al sat down, looking weary. He told Retskope what had happened, and what his nightmare had been about.

"I'll write to your father," said Retskope as Al finished. "He'll know what to do in this situation. For now, let me speak with the headmaster about what happened to you." As if on cue, O'Leary entered the office with a small smile. He nodded at Al, then looked grimly at Retskope. "Caleb," he said. "A letter will take too long to reach Mr. Potter. Instead, we'll use Floo Powder."

Al took this as his moment to leave. Retskope told him he'd speak with him later, and perhaps his father would come to help Albus, too.


	8. Chapter Eight: Dumbledore and Snape

_**-Chapter Eight-**_

_**Dumbledore and Snape**_

A day later, Albus felt tired and grumpy. He shook off Rose and Scorpius in the corridor, and made his way to the bathroom on the first floor.

Splashing cool water on his face from the gargoyle-shaped faucet, Al looked at himself in the mirror; his emerald green eyes stared back at him. This reminded him of something he'd wanted to do, but in all the excitement he hadn't yet been able to.

Making his way to the large gargoyle statue that guarded the entrance to O'Leary's study, Al said impatiently, "I'm in a bad mood today, Reginald, I just need to see the headmaster--"

The gargoyle leapt aside, and O'Leary stood behind it at the foot of the spiralling staircase. "Come, Albus," he said. "Professors Dumbledore and Snape are waiting for you."

Taken aback, Al followed O'Leary to the top of the staircase where the headmaster stopped. "You may have a few minutes alone, to speak with them," he said. Al entered the study, closing the door behind him.

In the usually empty frames were the heads of Professor Albus Dumbledore and Professor Severus Snape. Al remembered Rose mentioning something about McGonagall being at a tea party with some skinny medieval women in a portrait on the third floor.

"Ah," said Dumbledore, peering over his half-moon spectacles at the twelve-year-old wizard before him. "Severus, I believe we have a visitor." Dumbledore wore a pointed magenta hat, and had sparkling blue eyes. His long crooked nose, waist-length silvery white beard, and long, snow-white hair welcomed Albus the same way it had welcomed Harry.

Snape, however, was nothing as his father had ever described; Al had pictured Severus Snape to be a large, muscled knight in shining armour, a man of pure courage and bravery. In fact, he had once glanced at a chocolate-frog card of Godric Gryffindor and thought of his father's stories about Snape. However, now he saw how Snape had landed in Slytherin.

Pale, sallow skin; a long, hooked nose ending in a point, and dark eyes like coals. A slightly unpleasant-looking sneer on his thin lips. Long, jet-black and greasy hair that was parted in curtains over his face, ending at his shoulders. What Al could see of his chest and shoulders was a black cloak.

Al smiled at Dumbledore politely, and as he turned his gaze on Snape to do the same, the former headmaster forced a slightly uncomfortable-looking smile. It quickly became a glare again, but Dumbledore kept his warm smile on.

"Welcome, Albus Severus!" Said Dumbledore. "You are named, as you must already know, after myself and Professor Snape, the man you see next to me. And, by the look of your uniform, you appear to be a Slytherin, much like Professor Snape! What do you think, Severus?" Snape observed Al, looking him over. "Exactly the same height as his father was, and just as thin. Same untidy black hair--"

Dumbledore muttered something only Al could hear. "Same eyes as his father,"

It seemed Snape heard the last part, and what little colour he had in his face quickly left. "The same eyes Lily Evans had, hmm, Severus?"

Al looked at Snape. "My grandmother?" He asked thoughtfully. Snape continued watching Al carefully, and Dumbledore said, "Now, right to business. Albus, your headmaster and Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher both tell us you've experience some nightmares since the appearance of this… tower, in the forest."

Albus nodded, and replied, "Er, yeah. It's really strange, and it feels almost like… I don't know." Dumbledore's smiled grew smaller, but stayed on his face. "Do continue," he said. Al took a breath. "Like the tower is communicating with me, through my mind. I know it sounds stupid--"

Snape piped up, surprising both Al and Dumbledore, by the looks of it. "Not at all," he said. "It could very well be using students or teachers as its puppets. Dark magic works in ways we do not understand-- nor will we ever fully understand."

Cocking his head in Dumbledore's direction, Snape's portrait continued, "He didn't inherit the infamous Potter brain, at least. In fact, it seems he's inherited his grandmother's intelligence. Interesting… didn't I always tell you I thought she'd be in Slytherin when we were children? Cunning, ambitious. He seems more like her than--"

Dumbledore frowned slightly, and cut across Snape. "That is all, Severus," he said smoothly. "Albus, we have a solution to your problem. When your father was fifteen and attending Hogwarts, Tom Riddle was in power. He used dark magic, and the connection he had with your father to penetrate Harry's mind. In fact, it grew to be such a serious problem that Harry was led by Voldemort to believe someone he cared about was in danger; this led up to the events that ended with Sirius Black's death, an enormous loss in Harry's life."

Albus listened with rapt attention; Snape added, "I instructed your father throughout that particular year of his life to teach him the difficult art of Occlumency; an Occlumens is a wizard with the ability to shield their mind from attempts of other wizards trying to see their thoughts."

Albus knew this; his father had explained the concept to him over the summer. "And a Legillimens can do the opposite: read minds." Looking impressed, Snape quickly hid this and went back to scowling, which seemed out of habit. Dumbledore smiled and nodded in his frame.

"Yes, you are correct. Sadly, Riddle mastered both arts before even rising to power, which proved problematic for your father in his battle against Riddle." Snape added, "Despite our few… _sessions_, I found it difficult to work with your father. He saw memories of mine by accident… memories I did not want him to see."

Dumbledore finished, "We have discussed the topic with your father, Albus. He agrees that if dark forces within the tower are using witches and wizards from Hogwarts as its puppets, then the students must be taught how to defend their minds. Since you are the only student so far to report dreams and visions, Professor Retskope has offered to teach you the practice of Occlumency. He is skilled with it, as well as Legillimency."

Nodding, Al replied, "Thank you. I've been wanting to meet you both since I started here, last year, but I never got the chance."

Snape looked bemused. "Caught up in all the excitement, were you?" Going red, Albus grinned and said, "You heard about that?"

Dumbledore chuckled. "Naturally. We weren't surprised; you and your brother take after Harry so much."

At the mention of Harry, or perhaps James (or maybe even both) Snape's face went sour again. Not wanting to get into the subject, Al said goodbye and left the study, bumping into O'Leary on his way out-- who seemed to have his ear pressed up against the door.

"Yes, well," he said, slightly embarrassed, "Your first lesson with Professor Retskope begins next Thursday night, at seven o'clock in his office."

Al thanked the headmaster and left, but found himself wondering what it would be like if Dumbledore, or even Snape were headmaster while Al was attending Hogwarts.


	9. Chapter Nine: Past Demons

_**-Chapter Nine-**_

_**Past Demons **_

Al was trying his best in all of his classes, but, like most of his classmates he found it difficult with such a large distraction right outside the castle walls. Nobody dared to go near the tower; even James and his friends stayed away from it.

By Thursday night, Al had had the same nightmare twice after the first occasion; Scorpius reassured him it was normal, and that it would go away. Rose, however, believed it to be symbolic. She promised to read up on it for him.

Albus made his way through the hallway in the dungeons, the uneasy quiet sending a shiver up his spine. He yawned as he rapt on Retskope's office door. A few shuffling footsteps could be heard, then the door swung open and Retskope stood before Al.

He was wearing slightly more casual clothing than he did while teaching. In his hand, he held his wand, and he smiled welcomingly at Al. "Come on in," he said, tapping his wand. "You'll need yours, now."

Al pulled his own wand out of his pocket, and said, "Thanks a lot for helping me with this, Professor. I appreciate it."

Nodding, Retskope left the door open a crack and turned to Al. "Ok," he said, looking deep in thought. "I'm going to take a more practical approach at this, similar to how Professor Snape did with your dad. Relax, but stay as alert as possible. Mentally, I mean."

Trying to understand this the best he could, Al took a deep breath, and prepared himself. Raising his wand to about a foot from Al's head, Retskope said clearly, "_Legillimens_!

There was a flash of colour and Al was sent through a whirlwind of images that engulfed the office; he felt as though he was being watched, but could not see the observer; this was what having your mind read must have felt like.

Seeing a flash of violet eyes, Al could see what Retskope saw. A baby with a light layer of black hair and large, shining emerald eyes. His full, rosy cheeks being kissed by relatives, his mother holding him and his one-year-old brother in a crib next to them, playing with a rubber wand.

Another flash. Now Al was five, a toy broomstick hovering before him. He got on with ease, and shot around the living room on it, while his toddler sister twirled her red hair and watched with interest.

A final flash. The dream sequence, only speeded up and with a woman in one of the window-holes at the top of the tower; she was a young woman, with long red hair and Al's dazzling green eyes. She smiled, and Al seemed to remember her, perhaps from his father's photo album…

There was a whooshing sound, and Al's eyes shot open. He was standing there, slightly off balance, in front of Retskope, who watched him thoughtfully. "Are you alright?" He asked.

Panting slightly, Al answered, "Y-- Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

Retskope nodded. "Good. You have a strong-willed mind, and it would be difficult for a dark wizard to break through it."

Al looked mischievously at his teacher. "Will we just be practicing all night, with you constantly trying to look at my thoughts? Or will I ever get to try and get in your head?"

Retskope raised an eyebrow. "You're supposed to be learning mind defence, Al, not offence. If you want to learn Legillimency, you'll need a different teacher. Now, a misconception about Occlumency is that the best defence is a good offence. This is untrue; you shouldn't try and block your mind with something like a shield charm, big or small."

Al shrugged. "Why?" He asked, then he trailed off and grinned again. "Because I'll see your thoughts, won't I?"

Trying to avoid the question, Retskope muttered, "Briefly."

As they readied themselves for a second time, and Al raised his wand. The Slytherin in him seemed to get the better of his personality for a moment; he grinned mischievously and as Retskope said, "_Legilli_--" Al countered sharply, "_Expelliarmus_!" and as Retskope stumbled backward and lost his wand, Albus saw many quick flashes at once.

A woman with long, mousy-brown hair and topaz-coloured eyes was cowering in the corner; aside from he small form, she was a fairly attractive woman in her mid-thirties. She wore dingy clothing. She had her arms around to young boys, both looking frightened as a tall, gangly man took his stand in front of them. The man had very long legs and bony knees; he wore a dusty suit, and in the back of the small store they were all in, a few shelves of wands could be seen. A bookshelf near the fireplace held books on wandlore.

The man had slicked back dark brown hair, and was balding. He had a bushy goatee with some grey in it, and dark purple eyes that looked almost black. In his hand he held a long, thick wand made of a brittle-looking wood.

One of the brown-haired boys in the corner had his mother's eyes; one had his father's. They both looked like their father, and the one with his mother's eyes looked older than the one with his father's eyes. He looked about ten, while the younger boy looked seven or eight.

The woman shielding her sons was no doubt a Muggle; she had no wand to defend herself, and she asked, "Alexander, what's happening?" Alexander, the man holding the wand, replied, "I told you a few weeks ago, what I am, and what other people like me do. Get under the cloak.

An itchy-looking travel cloak hung on a coat hook near the door. It appeared the family was living out of this dingy little store. The woman looked frightened, and from somewhere else in the back of the store, three loud pops were heard. The final one was accompanied with a, "Alexander, come out and play! Bring your Muggle-wench with you, too."

Spinning around, Alexander hissed, "Now, Elizabeth!" He threw the bewitched cloak over her, and the make-shift invisibility cloak hid the children and Alexander's wife.

Turning a final time, Alexander gripped his wand firmly as three cloaked, shadowy figures entered the room. The first had skeletal, pale fingers that were long and thin; his eyes were all Albus could see beneath the shadow of his hood.

"Ah, what a fool you are, Alexander Retskope," said the red-eyed wizard, who had a high, ice cold voice. He raised his yew wand and laughed evilly, shouting, "_Crucio_!" Collapsing to his side and writhing in pain, Alexander forced himself to look up. "You son of a-- _Agghh_!!!"

He shook violently, going a sick pale colour. Laughing again, Voldemort whispered something to his fellow Death Eaters. They Apparated away.

Lowering his hood, and causing Al to gasp, Tom Riddle touched the tip of his wand to Alexander's forehead. "_Imperio_," he murmured, and as Alexander's eyes glazed over, his wife gave a small scream of shock. One of her sons had attempted to lift the enchanted cloak to assist his father; it was the younger one, who Al now saw was an eight-year-old Caleb Retskope, his teacher.

"Well," said Voldemort, flicking his wand at the whimper. The cloak flew into the crackling fireplace, and Elizabeth screamed again. "Hmm," said the Dark Lord, as if weighing the odds. He stood up, and, controlling Alexander like a puppet, he said, "Kill your family, and join me as my puppet. Or, hand yourself over as a loyal follower, and they will be spared."

He had lifted the controlling spell for only a moment; in this time, Alexander stared into Voldemort's scarlet eyes. "You're a strong Legillimens," said Alexander quietly. "But not a strong Occlumens. I know you're lying."

He raised his wand, but had no time to even strike. Voldemort made a slashing motion with his wand, as if cutting with a knife, and there was a loud bang. Flying through the window with a loud smash, Alexander fell flat on his back on the cobbled street below, dead.

Elizabeth shrieked and ran to the broken window; she barely got two feet before a flash of green light illuminated the room, and she too crumpled forward, falling out the window to join her husband on the street below. The only difference was that she was dead before she even hit the ground.

"Pity, pity," said Riddle as he observed the two boys cowering beside the broken window; Voldemort pocketed his wand and said with a frown, "I apologize, boys, but this is war. Your father was a remarkable Slytherin student at Hogwarts, and a very gifted duellist. His craft was making specialty wands, and even Ollivander has said numerous times how excellent a Retskope wand worked. It's a shame I had to kill him. He would've made an excellent Death Eater."

Reaching for his wand, Voldemort spun around, shocked, when he heard to loud pops behind him. Two armed Aurors appeared, and as they both shouted spells at Voldemort, the Dark Lord Disapparated quickly.

The scene didn't dissolve as it would in a Pensieve; instead, it broke apart to reveal Retskope's pale face, his eyes bloodshot and wide. "Albus," he said hoarsely as Al found himself back in the office with Retskope. "I-- I did not want you to see that… No child should ever…"

He looked lost for words. Al felt very embarrassed; he stood up, and said, "I'll go, Professor. Sorry, I was just--"

Retskope bowed his head and said solemnly, "No, no… it's fine. Man's greatest gift is curiosity, my father taught me that. I-- I suppose we can finish up tonight with some reading, I've got some books on Occlumency here. Professor O'Leary has my last two on Legillimency."

Albus felt awkward for what he had seen; After a moment or two of silence, he looked at Retskope. "Professor," he said lightly, and Retskope looked at him. "That's almost like what happened to my father. Riddle killed his parents, too." Retskope sighed, and handed Albus some of the Occlumency books. "Read those, when you can, Albus," he replied. "I'll see you in class. You're dismissed."


	10. Chapter Ten: A Visit From Mr Potter

_**-Chapter Ten-**_

_**A Visit From Mr. Potter**_

It was mid October, now, and already Albus could see many students were starting to leave Hogwarts. Most of these were first years, but it was sad to see some third years and fourth years leaving too. The appearance of the tower had forced parents to take imidiate action, and they didn't want their children attending a school in the shadow of a Dementor-guarded tower.

The Ministry was making frequent visits now, continuing to inspect the tower. Yet none of the Aurors or Ministry officials wanted to actually touch the tower, or enter it.

Al's dreams were continuing, but were less frequent now. It was because he had other things on his mind, he thought.

Albus, Scorpius, and Rose made their way to Transfiguration with the Hufflepuff Head of House, Professor Whitby. They were discussing Qudditch, and how Rose and Al's cousin Fred Weasley would be trying out the following day for the Gryffindor team. Like his father and his namesake, he wanted to be a Beater.

"Obviously," said Scorpius as they turned a corner and approached the Transfiguration classroom. "Beater's the best position! So much action and violence." Laughing, Al argued that Chaser was the best position while Rose rolled her eyes. "It's _all_ violence and action," she muttered. Al turned to his cousin and cocked his head. "Rose, I wouldn't be so critical," he said with a grin. "Uncle Ron was a really good Keeper, so maybe he passed it on to you."

Rolling her eyes and taking a seat at her desk between Al and Scorpius, Rose replied, "Oh, I'm sure. You've seen Hugo on a broom, he's far better than I am. Mum and I have never really liked Quidditch, anyway."

"Have a seat," said Whitby as they all quieted down. "We'll be Transfiguring rats into bats today, in the Halloween spirit."

Al remembered that Halloween was fast approaching; he hoped it would be far better than last year's Halloween, at which time Albus and Scorpius witnessed the smuggling of a Basilisk egg into Hogwarts.

"Now, remember," said Whitby sternly, "These are living creatures we're transfiguring, so no more repeats of what happened last time-- that means you, Dobson! Don't think I forgot about that toad."

Class flew by for them, and around the end of class Albus had transfigured his rat into a bat perfectly, along with Rose and Scorpius. They headed to the dungeons, where Potions class would be.

They were early, so only the professor was in the classroom. It was Professor Wrightmore, the Muggle-born witch and Potions Master.

She wasn't alone, however; sitting across from her was Professor Retskope, looking very uncomfortable. He was very pale, and had dark rings around his eyes, as if he hadn't slept much the night before.

"…And I didn't want him to see, but he--" Retskope stopped abruptly when he saw Al and his friends enter. "Albus. Rose, Scorpius," he murmured, making his way out the door hastily. "I'll-- I'll talk to you later, Theresa."

He left the classroom, and the three students took their seats. "Er, sorry for interrupting," said Albus, but Professor Wrightmore shook her head. "Not at all, Albus. Now, since you three are early, please take out your copy of _Potion Making for Beginners_."

**A.S.P.**

Harry Potter hadn't looked so under the weather since he was a teenager; he was pale, thinner than usually, and had lost a good few pounds in the passed months. He had dark rings under his eyes and a lot of dark stubble. His glasses were slightly crooked on his face, and His mouth was dry behind his chapped lips. He looked almost underfed; when in reality, he hadn't been eating much of Ginny's roast beef dinners or chicken and potatoes.

Clearing sleep from his eyes, Harry made his way from the small bunk-bed he shared with Ron. Ron snored loudly from up top; Harry had been awakened by the loud hoot of the owl clock on the wall of his office.

He spat a wad of phlegm into the gargoyle sink behind his bed. The office had been magically enlarged; it now fit a small kitchen and the bunk bed, which Harry felt was from the 1950's. He nudged the lump of covers and blankets that was his brother-in-law, and muttered, "Ron. Ron, get up."

"Five more minutes, mate," was the groggy reply he got. Rolling his eyes, Harry said in a louder whisper, "Oi! It's four o'clock, we should've been up half an hour ago."

Ron sat up, looking equally under the weather. His hair was overgrown, in need of a full on haircut. His eyes were so bloodshot, he reminded Harry of Hagrid's bloodhound, Fang. Ron actually sported a ginger-coloured beard, and had been called a tramp by Hermione just a few days prior. He stood up, and muttered, "Where are we off to today?"

Coughing and checking the tiny cupboard in the kitchen, Harry grabbed some wrapped up bread. He ate it quickly, washing it down with some cold coffee that sat on the table.

Ron entered the kitchen behind him, drinking half a carton of orange juice and eating some bruised fruit. Harry looked at him and said, "We should try to make ourselves look presentable; we're going to Hogwarts today. I'm leaving McMillain in charge of Teddy's case for the day."

Choking on a lumpy piece of bananna, Ron replied, "What? Hogwarts? Why in the bloody hell are we going to Hogwarts?" Harry took awhile to answer. "Thomas O'Leary contacted me via flew powder awhile back. Said Al's having dreams about the tower. They think its trying to get in his head, like Riddle tried to get in mine. Caleb's teaching him Occlumency on Snape and Dumbledore's orders."

Ron shook his head in awe. "How's that going for him?" Harry shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't seen or written to Albus, James or even Lily back home since September. I barely see Ginny anymore."

They shaved, made themselves look a little bit better and got into their travel robes. Then, Harry pocketed his phoenix wand and the two made their way out the office door. They were in the Auror department of the Ministry; it was almost completely deserted because it was early in the morning. Once in the Atrium, they stood side-by-side in an emerald green fire and the flames whooshed to life as Harry said clearly, "Hog's Head Bar in Hogsmeade!"


	11. Chapter Eleven: No Soul's Day

_**-Chapter Eleven-**_

_**No Soul's Day **_

"Al!"

Albus looked up, feeling sleepy from the gloomy weather-- which had seemingly been brought on by the appearance of the tower. "Hmm?"

Rose was looking at him with a shocked expression; "We haven't visited Hagrid yet! It's been over a month since we got back and we haven't seen him!" Scorpius entered the Great Hall, holding a letter from his parents. His owl, Braxas, was on his shoulder. It flapped off into the rafters of the Great Hall, hidden by a cloudy enchanted ceiling.

He sat down next to Albus, who informed him that they hadn't yet seen Hagrid. "Let's go, then," said Scorpius. "Halloween's tomorrow, so we can ask him if he's got any of those huge pumpkins in his garden. Plus, I missed Fang over the holidays."

They headed outside, as it was a Saturday, and made their way through the light drizzle to Hagrid's. They knocked on the door, and heard someone moving around inside. As the door opened, Albus saw who had answered: his Uncle Ron, Rose's father.

Rose squealed and hugged her father; he almost fell over. "You finally shaved!" She exclaimed. He smiled. "We were just on our way up to the school. How are you, honey?" Rose smiled and told her father about her school marks, and how she was doing in her classes. "Hermione'll be thrilled," he said with a laugh. "Hey, Al," he greeted his nephew, then smiled politely at Scorpius. "Hello."

Scorpius nodded, and the children entered. Al's heart skipped a beat when he saw his father sitting at the table with Hagrid; Fang was lying at Harry's feet while he scratched the dog's ears. Fang drooled gratefully on Harry's shoes.

Harry smiled and hugged his son. "Hey, Al," he said. Albus' smile quickly diminished; he'd never seen his father so ill-looking. "Dad," he said, "What's going on with Teddy? Have you guys heard anything?"

Shaking his head, Harry replied, "Nothing. We're here about you, Albus. Has Professor Retskope been helping you with Occlumency?"

Nodding, Al replied, "Yeah, but it's hard, since Occlumency is so advanced. Plus, he hasn't been himself. Did he tell you what happened?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't think so. What did you do?" Al bit his lip. "I saw some of his memories… I didn't mean to. It was him and his parents and his brother, and Voldemort--"

Harry cut across him. "You saw Riddle? My God, it must've been the memory of his parents being…" he stopped, and Hagrid stood up uncomfortably. "Who wants tea?" He asked gruffly. Ron nodded at him, and Rose stood up to help him with it.

"Dad," asked Albus uncertainly, "I didn't understand. What happened to his parents? Why did Voldemort attack them?"

Harry sighed. "His father was a wandmaker, not as well-known as Ollivander. A pure-blood Slytherin, a good man. He married a Muggle woman who didn't know about his actual occupation until they actually moved into his wand shop. They had Caleb and his brother, Xander. They hid in the shop for years, raising their sons. Being a pure-blood Slytherin and a gifted wand maker, Voldemort thought Retskope's father had potential as a Death Eater. They hid the shop magically, until their Secret-Keeper betrayed them to Riddle. You saw the rest."

Shocked, Albus was lost for words. "That's almost exactly what happened to you, Dad!"

His father nodded slowly, and said, "Yes, well, that may be why Caleb and I get along so well. We understand each other."

They entered the back entrance into Hogwarts. Before the doors swung shut behind them, however, they heard Hagrid's loud roar echo across the grounds. "Harry!" He bellowed, and as they all spun around, they watched in horror as three Dementors swooped down at Hagrid's cabin.

"Close the doors!" Shouted Harry to a passing-by Hodge, who quickly obeyed. Harry and Ron ran full speed, wands out, at the attacking Dementors. Al watched as his father conjured a large, silvery stag Patronus that chased of two of the hooded fiends; Ron's small terrier took care of the last Dementor.

They weren't the only ones, however; soon, four more Dementors came to back up the first three.

Al need only glimpse the creatures to feel as bad as his father had as a boy; the Dementors were sucking the happiness from all of the people they came near. Feeling whoozy, Al leaned on the wall for support. He watched as two teachers ran out to assist Harry and Ron.

From what he could see, it was O'Leary, the headmaster, and Retskope. Suddenly, Hagrid's dragon Patronus joined the army of others, lead by a great silver stag.

Gasping, Al saw the tail of a large bird leave the end of O'Leary's wand; it flew side-by-side with Hagrid's dragon. Looking closer, Al realized it wasn't a bird.

"That's a Bat-Dove, like Noctis!" announced Scorpius. On the ground, a medium-sized animal bounded with Ron's terrier at the Dementors lower to the ground. "What's Retskope's Patronus?" Asked Albus, but no one was paying attention to him. Finally, the last of the Dementors were gone, retreating to their posts as watchmen for the tower.

Suddenly, getting a dizzy spill, Albus let out a loud gasp. He collapsed on his side, the Hall around him dissolving. He was in a dark room, made up some cold black stone. It was a small room, and at the window a Dementor's billowing cloak could be seen a few feet away. Only one person was in the room with Al. He was chained up against the opposite wall, wearing the same clothes he'd been kidnapped in.

Teddy's hair hair grown out; he no longer had the will and energy to playfully turn it turquoise. Instead, it was overlong and messy; it was a mousy brown, like his mother's natural hair colour had been, and his grandfather's for whom he was named.

His eyes had a sullen, deeply saddened look. The soul patch on his chin had now become a shade of brown as well, and had grown out to cover most of his lower face area as a large beard. His once happy, curious eyes now held an ever-lingering tiredness that had only been there a few times before. His lips were cracked and bloody.

The shackles that held him looked heavy and tight on his wrists and ankles. They were made of some medieval black metal, with the same symbols and ancient writing engraved on them as the tower.

Slowly, Albus disappeared and returned to the hallway from before. Looking up, he heard his father's voice faintly against a loud whooshing sound. Uncle Ron was supporting him; soon Albus saw a spin of colours, and then, nothing.


	12. Chapter Twelve: Halloween Tricks

_**-Chapter Twelve**__**-**_

_**Halloween Tricks**_

Al awoke the following morning, at almost eleven o'clock. His eyelids were heavy, and he found himself yawning more than usual. He'd had a dreamless sleep-- thankfully.

"Oh, finally!" Said a voice from beside him. Turning, Al saw his brother James sitting beside his bed. They were in the hospital wing.

"Now I can leave," said James with a crooked grin. Al looked confused. "That was a joke," said James a minute later, smile fading. "You OK?"

Al shrugged, still not speaking. He felt as if he couldn't. "Heard about Dad, then? How he and Uncle Ron took on the Dementors? We all watched from the common room window, it was brilliant! 'Course, if I'd been there I could've dealt with those Dementors easy."

Al made a small attempt to smile. "You can't cast a Patronus," Al pointed out. James blinked. "Retskope's been teaching our class, though! Third years, remember? Dad helped pass that rule awhile back. I'm doing the best in my class, I've almost got a full-bodied, corperal Patronus. Right now, it's looking kind of like Cecil…"

Laughing at the thought of their fat house cat Cecil leaping from the end of James' wand, Al sat up in his bed and asked Madam Parvati, who was passing by, for some breakfast.

She brought him a piece of buttered toast, bacon and eggs a few minutes later, and asked how he was feeling. Along with the breakfast, Albus got a tall glass of pumpkin juice and a slab of dark chocolate.

James watched his brother eat, and asked, "You alright, Al? You haven't been too good all week. Halloween's tomorrow, you know."

Albus shrugged, breaking a piece off his chocolate and tossing it into his mouth. "Well, what happened, anyway? Did I faint, like what happened to Dad when he was a kid with Dementors?"

Shaking his head, James replied, "No, Dad says it has nothing to do with the Dementors. He thinks because you don't have any horrible memories to be brought back that it wasn't what made you pass out. It was the tower getting in your head again."

Goosebumps formed on Al's arms; he shivered at the thought of the tower. "I saw Teddy," he whispered. "He looks horrible. Skinny as a bone, too… he's chained up in one of the rooms at the very top of the tower."

James was standing a split-second after. "I've gotta tell Dad!" He exclaimed, spinning around and bounding for the door. "He said he'd come to visit you before he left, Al. But I have to tell him what you saw."

Leaving the hospital wing before Al could reply, James was gone in a flash. Al rolled over onto his stomach, groaning into his pillow. There was too much stress on him lately.

As he rolled over, he heard some familiar voices. Smiling, he looked up to see Scorpius and Rose entering the hospital wing. "Hey, Al," said Scorpius, patting his friend on the shoulder. Rose hugged her cousin. "Feeling better?" She asked.

Albus shrugged, and stood up. "I'm sick of being in bed, to be honest. I want to do something to help my Dad find Teddy. Did you see James leaving?"

Nodding, Scorpius replied, "Oh, yeah. He said something about Teddy up in the tower, the bolted down the hallway." Al cursed under his breath, and saw he was in his pajamas. "Where're my robes, and my wand?"

Rose reached into her book bag, which was bulgier than usual, and handed Al his slightly wrinkled school robes. Scorpius was holding Al's green and silver Slytherin house tie, and had Al's wand in his pocket.

"Thanks," said Albus as he left to change quickly in a back room of the hospital wing. He emerged, straightening his tie and brandishing his wand.

"C'mon, I have to find my dad."

They jogged to the Transfiguration classroom; Al stopped abruptly on the way. "What's today?" He asked.

Scorpius looked at him questioningly. "The thirty-first, Halloween. Why?" Al's stomach dropped. "The feast will be tonight."

Rose looked confused. "So?!" She asked. Albus shook his head, feeling almost delirious for a moment. Then, as they turned a corner, Al bumped into a tall figure and fell to the floor, his wand slipping from his grasp and rolling away.

"Potter," said a snide voice from above him. "Heard your pathetic father was here. Rounding up more people's parents, is he?"

Looking up, Albus saw his rival, the third-year Isaac Sheerbourne. He'd only seen him briefly since the year had begun; the summer hadn't exactly been good to Sheerbourne. He now had slight acne, most of which was probably not visible, due to clearing it up with magic. His thin, sallow face was paler than ever, and his voice had dropped considerably; it now gave him a more intimidating accent than before. He'd let his hair grown out even longer, and it fell in dark, stringy pieces down to his shoulders. At first glance, and Al hated to admit it, Sheerbourne bore a passing resemblance to Severus Snape.

Sheerbourne had two cronies, similar to Scorpius's father, Draco, back in his school days. One of them, known as Crow to most of the school was tall and lanky and very ugly; he had a repulsive look to him. Cevnisk, the second crony had a buzz cut and was very well-taught in the Dark Arts from his father; both Crow and Cevnisk's fathers were followers of Isaac's.

Mr. Sheerbourne had recently been imprisoned in Azkaban by Harry for leading a group of dark wizards called the Basilisk's Order.

Cevnisk grabbed Al by the shirt and picked him up. Pointing his wand at Cevnisk's throat, Scorpius yelled angrily, "Back up, Cevnisk. Don't touch him!"

Rose passed Albus his wand, and he raised it warningly at Isaac. "What do you want?" he asked rudely. Sheerbourne grinned easily. "Nothing, actually… just wanted to show some Halloween spirit. Where are you three off to in such a hurry?"

He pulled out his own polished wand, and made his way slowly toward Albus, who stood his ground. "Heard you fainted from the scary Dementors, huh?" He said, laughing. Scorpius looked outraged. "He didn't!" Said Scorpius angrily. "He fainted because of that damned tower--"

"_Impedimenta_!"

Al didn't hesitate; he ducked and pointed upward, shouting, "_Expelliarmus_!"

The jet of light narrowly missed its target, which was Crow's wand hand. He heard Rose and Scorpius yelling curses behind him.

"_Serpensortia_!" Al couldn't see who'd cast that spell, but it sounded like Isaac. Suddenly, a long black snake with bright yellow eyes was slithering full speed toward Albus. Thinking fast, he yelled, "_Incarcerous_!" And the entire front end of the snake was wrapped up in thick dark ropes. It hissed and spluttered around on the floor.

Isaac was already rearing back for another spell, which he casted immediately after Al looked up. He couldn't hear what Isaac said, due to Scorpius' loud yells and swears directed at Crow, whom he was duelling.

Isaac's curse hit Al in the forehead, and he saw stars, as if he'd been knocked unconscious. Suddenly, everything was dark and his head was three times heavier than before.

A loud roar of laughter echoed through the hall; Al's muffled hearing told him it was either Crow or Cevnisk. It was quickly silenced by Scorpius' minor knock-back jinx, a first year spell.

Al stumbled, feeling his way around the hall. What in the world had Sheerbourne done to him? He tried speaking, but his mouth didn't want to open.

Suddenly, a pair of hands grasped his arm firmly. It was Rose, he knew it before she even spoke. "Calm down, Al, and give me a moment. Oh, he got you good-- _Rictumsempra_! Get away, Cevnisk!"

Rose was muttering things under her breath, and as Scorpius covered her and Al by duelling Isaac and Crow at once, she flipped through an old book from her knapsack.

"Here… this'll reverse it, hopefully." Albus tried to say 'hopefully?' back, but before he could attempt to there was a warm, tickling sensation around the area his ears should've been, and he felt his nose seemingly regrow onto his face. He blinked, and felt a slight prickling on top of his head, where his hair must've been regrowing, too.

He felt his face and hair, and asked, "What happened? What was on my head--"

Isaac had knocked Scorpius into a portrait, which fell from the wall and let out a scream, with the disarming spell. Albus pointed his wand at Isaac, while Rose pointed hers at Cevnisk. However, before the duel could continue, a loud voice rang through the hall.

Kyle Bones, a sixth year Slytherin prefect had been snogging his girlfriend, the Hufflepuff prefect Hester Fortescue. She dashed off when he started telling them off.

"Malfoy! Potter!" He shouted, then he said, "Ms. Gryffindor, return to your common room, as you are not part of my house!" She nodded fearfully and dashed off, her backpack on her arm.

Isaac helped Crow up, who was still in a slight fit of giggles from Rose's powerful tickling charm. Kyle threw the laughing Crow a look, and then said to the five boys in his house, "Ten points from each of you. Do you honestly think we'll win the House Cup when you five are duelling all the time?"

He brought them back to the common room, telling them to go to their separate quarters. Al sat furiously in his dormitory, with Scorpius on the top bunk, reading a letter from his parents. "Hey, look on the bright side, Al!" He said, jumping down from his bed. "My parents say you can come stay for the holidays! Cool, huh?"

Albus hadn't thought of Christmas much lately; he had to admit, it was on its way. But, it was only Halloween, so he was more concerned with the matter at hand. "Do you think Sheerbourne knows anything about the tower, Scorpius?"

Scorpius rolled his eyes and faced Al. "No, Al! Not again. We aren't saving everyone again-- you know how horrified mother was when father told her I saved our school from a basilisk?! She didn't want me to come back this year. Dad and I had to beg her."

Albus glared angrily at the wall. He may not have inherited being a Gryffindor, but he'd inherited his father's temper. "Yeah, well Hogwarts could close by Christmas. So, unless you were thinking of having an extra-long holiday--" BANG!

They rushed from the dormitory to see what the loud noise in the common room was.


	13. Chapter Thirteen: The Promise

_**-Chapter Thirteen-**_

_**The Promise**_

They roared with laughter when they entered the common room to find Kyle Bones, the Slytherin prefect who'd warned them earlier that evening, stumbling around bumping into furniture. "Argh! Blimey, someone jinxed me from behind-- sounded like that little bugger Crow. C'mon, someone gimme a hand!"

Albus thought this was far worse than whatever pumpkin-head-related curse had hit him; Kyle's face had broken out in large winged bogies, and he looked like he was in a lot of pain.

A fifth-year girl in their house who Rose sometimes hung around with, named Amanda Fraser was able to repair the damage of the Bat-Bogy Hex. Albus didn't bother recalling the tale his father had told him, about how his mother was gifted with casting this spell as a student.

"That cheer you up?" Asked Scorpius as they headed to the Great Hall for the annual Halloween feast. Albus shrugged. "Kind of… although, it was Isaac and his friends who casted that spell in the first place."

The teachers were being more lax this year with House rules; they allowed the students to mix in with the different Houses and sit with their friends. Al and Scorpius sat next to Rose at the Gryffindor table, across from Fred, James and Louis.

Louis was their Hufflepuff cousin in his third year, and one of James' best friends. Fred, the third of their small party and an equally-lighthearted troublemaker was in Gryffindor like James, only in his fourth year. Due to Harry suggesting that Wood change the rules shortly after Teddy started at Hogwarts, fourth years and older could now try out for Quidditch House teams.

"How were tryouts, Fred?" Asked Albus as he passed Rose the potatoes and forked himself a few. Fred, like his father and the uncle he was named for, played Beater.

Fred grinned and took a large piece of steak from a nearby platter. "Excellent! They posted who made the team this morning in the common room. Billy Corner is Team Captain, and probably the best Chaser our house has ever seen. We got two new Chasers this year and me, the Beater. They kept Richard, the other Beater, Maria, our Keeper, and of course Corner wanted to keep Wronski as Seeker."

James went red around the ears, and his hand squeezed the fork he held a little too tightly; it was common knowledge that Ben Wronski, the Gryffindor Seeker, was a seventh-year and the son of famous Quidditch player Josef Wronski, one of the world's best and most famous Seekers. Wronski had played on the Grodzisk Goblins, a Polish Quidditch team. When their son was just a baby, Josef and his wife moved to Britain.

James had a particular dislike of Ben, primarily because he was the Gryffindor Seeker, and James, like his father, was a Seeker. He had wanted to play on the House team since he was a toddler, and would stop at nothing to become part of the team.

"Don't worry, James," said Louis as they all started on desert. "Ben's leaving next year anyway, so you can take his place. No problem."

Al spoke up thickly through his pudding. "But, there are a lot of good Seekers in Gryffindor. Finnigan's trying out next year, too, and I know for a fact that Michaels was a pro at his school in the States."

Rose interrupted the Quidditch talk awhile later so they could discuss something else, but no one really seemed interested in books. So, she dragged Scorpius and Al away after desert to go to the library. She offered to help Scorpius with his paper in Transfiguration.

"…And I just don't understand what the big deal is," he said to her as they turned a corner into a particularily dark hallway. "I mean, it's the most practical class there is, we should be learning spells, not writing papers--"

There was a sudden chill surrounding them, and Scorpius stopped talking abruptly. "Do you hear that?"

Albus pulled his wand slowly from his pocket, and whispered, "Yeah… I do. Come on, it's coming from downstairs."

They went down to the dungeons, where a loud yelling could be heard echoing off the walls.

"Is that Retskope?" Asked Scorpius. They knocked on Retskope's office door; Albus hadn't noticed his teacher was absent at the feast.

"Professor?" Called Albus.

They entered, and Rose gasped. Scorpius dropped his wand the moment he brought it out from his pocket, and Al's throat went very dry.

Retskope was up against a wall, his face very pale. In the middle of the room, two bodies lay beside an upturned table. It was the pretty young Muggle woman and her bearded, wizard husband from Retskope's memory. Al remembered them clearly, and was terrified to see his teacher's parents lying there, dead on his office floor.

Retskope was holding his wand in his shaking right hand, and raised it slowly. However, before he could cast any sort of spell, there was a crack and a flash of smoke. Now, the seen seemed to be replaying itself; Retskope's parents were standing, quite alive, and as his father held his wand and mirrored his son, his mother let out a scream and a flash of green light illuminated the room. They were dead again, laying there and staring blankly at the ceiling.

Retskope swallowed and whispered, "Ri-- Ridi-- _Ridikkulus_."

He barely moved his wand hand; but the spell worked. The green flash became white, and instead of dying, Mr. and Mrs. Retskope now stood smiling, their sons just boys beside them, as if posing for a family photo.

This only lasted briefly, since the image vanished immediately after.

Collapsing on his hands and knees, Retskope breathed heavily and stood up. "Go," he whispered to his students. "Go."

They didn't need telling twice; Albus, Rose and Scorpius were gone in a flash. They ran back upstairs to see the students of Slytherin filing back into the dugeons after the feast. After passing them all, Albus made his way down to hall.

"Al? Al, where are you goin?"

He turned and said, "Dad wasn't at the feast, so I'm checking O'Leary's office. I've got to tell him what we just saw."

Scorpius caught up to his friend, and asked angrily, "What was that? How were those people dying over and over--"

Rose ran over, and started reciting something she had no doubt learned from one of her books on dark creatures. "A Boggart. It becomes the thing you fear most. A lot of children see silly things, like vampires or werewolves. Adults have more mature fears, like dying loved ones. Our grandmother's only ever had to face a Boggart once-- she was cleaning out Sirius Black's house, and saw her children all dying."

Shuddering, Scorpius asked, "Why is there one here, at Hogwarts?" Al answered immediately. "The tower. That's got to be it. Think about it; Dementors have been near-extinct for months now, and suddenly an army of them appears at the top of the tower? Boggarts aren't common in Hogwarts, mostly they live in dusty drawers or under beds. One appearing at random in Retskope's office like that is really strange."

They had come to Reginald, the moving and talking statue of a gargoyle that guarded the headmaster's office. "Darn! What's the password this year, Rose?" Leaping aside, the gargoyle said in his natural bored tone, "As always, I must make an exception for you, young Potter. Your father is up there with Professor O'Leary, he said to expect you."

They made their way gratefully up the stairs, and Albus knocked hastily on the door. "Come in," said O'Leary on the other side.

They entered and found Harry, Ron and O'Leary all standing around the fireplace; the flames were just dying down to normal size and colour from their unnatural seven-foot tall emerald ones.

It appeared that a fourth wizard had travelled by Floo-Powder into the office; he was a bald, African wizard that stood well over six feet tall. He wore long violet robes, and a small matching hat. On his ear was a stud earring that appeared to be made of diamond.

Albus knew from seeing this man in the papers that it must be his father's boss and the Minister for Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt. He smiled when he saw Al, Scorpius and Rose.

"You three were babies last time I got round to see you-- no, wait… Scorpius, you came with your father to work over the summer. I remember now."

He turned and shook hands with Harry, Ron and O'Leary. "We were just about to have a meeting," said Harry. "Then Ron and I are back to the Ministry with Kingsley. What do you need, Al? I'm glad to see you're up."

Al nodded and replied, "Dad, it's Professor Retskope. We just found him in his office dealing with a Boggart."

Harry looked uneasily at his son, then at his neice and Scorpius. "Oh. Well, is he, er, alright?"

Scorpius answered, "No. We saw his parents being murdered! It was his parents, right Al?"

Albus felt himself going pale. "Yeah… it was."

Harry sighed, and Kingsley looked very angry about something. "I'll be making the announcement shortly, then. Professor O'Leary, let's make our way to the Great Hall."

They left the office, and Harry said something about finding Retskope and speaking with him before he and Ron left. Scorpius, Albus and Rose left the office; Al noticed Snape's portrait was empty, and Dumbledore seemed to be peacefully slumbering.

Before leaving the office, Dumbledore's warm voice met Al's ears. "Albus," he said, "May I have a brief word?"

Al stopped and turned around, facing Dumbledore; his bright blue, sparkling eyes met Al's emerald green ones. "You, and your schoolmates are in a time of great despair. As you already know, the appearance of this tower has caused many dilemmas. Please, promise me you will not do anything you may regret. While your thirst for power and ambitiousness are traits of Slytherin, also is your impulsiveness. This simply means you may indeed go out looking for a fight. Promise me that you will not attempt to enter the tower, or put yourself in danger."

Albus didn't know what to say. A second voice joined the conversation. "What Dumbledore means, is that your strong headed tendencies could very well get you into trouble. It did so with your brother, your father and your grandfather many times."

Albus couldn't stop himself from speaking to Snape, who had just entered his portrait. "Well, they were all Gryffindors, weren't they? Unlike us, Professor, since we're both Slytherins--"

Dumbledore cut across Al smoothly. "Albus," he said, "Promise me."

Al sighed. "I-- I promise, Professor Dumbledore."

Snape's lip curled into an unpleasant sneer when Al's eyes darted to him; Albus left the office, letting the door swing shut behind him.


	14. Chapter Fourteen:TheQuidditchCatastrophe

_**-Chapter Fourteen-**_

_**The Quidditch Catastrophe **_

Rose and Scorpius hadn't really left the spiralling staircase outside the headmaster's office; they had their ears pressed to the door when Al opened it.

Stumbling, Scorpius said defensively, "Sorry, we were just--"

Al finished for him. "Spying."

Rose went red, and said, "Just go down to bed, Al, you've had a rough day. We all have, but lately you've been having too many. Try to de-stress tomorrow at the Quidditch match; Slytherin versus Gryffindor.

There had been a few matches already this year, but now that tryouts were through the new team had plenty of time to practice. Excited, Albus said, "You're right. But I'm going to be exhausted in the morning; nightmares will keep me up."

Despite his cousin's protests, Albus left with Scorpius with the idea in his mind that he would certainly have nightmares about the tower. Half of him hoped to have these visions, so he could learn more about the tower's mystery; half of him wanted to wake up in the morning in his own bed at home, making the passed few months a long and horrible dream.

As he lay in his cool, comforter-covered bed, Albus rolled over and whispered, "Scorpius! Put a silencing charm on Mitchell so he stops snoring!" Mitchell was their fourth roomate, and Allan's best friend.

Laughing, Scorpius didn't reply; Al silently agreed that it was time to sleep, and he fell into a peaceful slumber.

**A.S.P.**

Al had a dreamless sleep, something he usually didn't mind. He awoke at around eleven o'clock on Saturday morning, grateful that he didn't experience any nightmares.

"Morning," called Scorpius from the other side of the dormitory. He was pulling a pine-green sweater over his head, and wore black, baggy track pants. It appeared he had doubled, or perhaps tripled his layers of socks.

"Chilly out, is it?"

Scorpius nodded. "Oh, yeah. Rose came by an hour ago for some help with Hagrid, he had a fun night in Hogsmeade, at one of the pubs. Said he needed something from his garden, but he could hardly stand up straight. So, we got him the herb, brought it to Madam Parvati and Professor Wrightmore, and they started brewing him a potion."

Grinning, Al replied, "Figures. Hagrid's hangovers are never too pleasant. He visited over the summer with Teddy…"

Albus trailed off, suddenly feeling depressed at the thought of his godfather. He sighed, and Scorpius frowned. "C'mon, Al! We're going to have a good day! Rose and I have a bet about who's going to win the match."

As they discussed Quidditch, Al put on the whool jumper his grandmother had made for him before school starter, which was emerald green to match his eyes and had a silver snake in the shape of an S on the front. He wore a pair of jeans that were an uncommon shade of blue, distinguishing them from Muggle pants.

"Let's go," he said as he pocketed his wand and did his best to brush his hair. Scorpius noticed Al's wand sticking out of his pocket. "Why'd you bring your wand? Think Sheerbourne is going to start something?"

Al shrugged. "No, just in case though. Dad says always have it on you; it could save your life, you know."

Laughing, they headed up to the first floor, then out to the yards. They were early; only about forty other students, mostly Gryffindors, were seated in the stands. From the stands, Al and Scorpius could see the tower in the distance; seeing the Dementors sent a chill up his spine.

"Albus, Scorpius," said a voice behind them. Spinning around, Al had to stifle a gasp; Professor Retskope had large bags under his eyes, which were bloodshot, and his face looked very pale. His hair wasn't in its well-kept ponytail; rather, it was a tangled mess that hung just above his shoulders. He was wearing particularily shabby clothes.

"Professor?" Asked Al, and his teacher tried his best to smile. "Seen me on better days, have you Al? I apologize; I shouldn't have showed up to a Quidditch match like this."

"Are you a fan of Quidditch?" Asked Scorpius, obviously trying to change the subject. Retskope nodded fervently. "Indeed I am. I didn't play much during my time at Hogwarts; Xander was never a flyer, and he made me join other clubs and teams instead. But I find it quite exhilarating to be on a broomstick. I'm quite a gifted Keeper, if I do say so myself."

He took a seat above them, in the small section reserved for teachers; he sat beside Wrightmore, who didn't look too shocked by his appearance. On his other side, the headmaster sat speaking in a low voice to him.

"He looks dreadful, doesn't he?" Asked Rose, who was making her way up to the boys. Scorpius snorted. "You didn't get a wiff of him. Smells as if he hasn't showered in days. Poor fellow; wonder what's been happening with him."

Al focused uneasily on the pitch; it was a very gloomy day, as always, and he noticed it was the first of November. It had indeed gotten much cooler out, and the clouds darkened profusely and noticingly more around the top of the tower.

Doing the commentary for the match was a seventh year student, one of Dean Thomas's three children and his only son. He was a well-built boy in Gryffindor named Sam. Pointing his wand at his neck, Sam muttered, "_Sonorus_," and his voice magnified to the point of echoing around the stands, which were now almost full.

"Ladies and gentlemen, teachers and students! Welcome to yet another Quidditch match between Slytherin and Gryffindor! We've got quite a few player changes, so please join me in welcoming the Gryffindor team!

"The Captain of the team, lead Chaser and my close personal friend, Billy Corner!"

Al saw a very tall, but otherwise plain boy riding an overly-polished brookstick burst out from under the stands, skid in mid-air above the pitch and raise his arms in a sort of victory-wave. Cheers erupted from the Gryffindor side as Sam continued, "And his fellow Chasers, Marcus Kastslov and Ian Matthewson!"

More cheers; Al clapped politely while Scorpius booed and Rose slapped him on the arm. "And the Gryffindor Beaters, Fred Weasley and Richard Skemple!"

Richard had thick, shining brown hair cut in a mushroom-like style that Al snorted at. He was fairly chubby, but tossed his club from hand to hand as if it was weightless. Fred held his club in his left hand, as he was left handed, and spun it around excitedly. Albus heard his brother cheering on the other side of the pitch for their cousin.

"Yay, Fred!" Yelled Rose as she waved a red and gold flag with a lion on it. Scorpius rolled his eyes.

"…Also the only female player on the team, give it up for Maria Vellkroff! Maria was only about fourteen or fifteen; Al knew his cousin Fred fancied her. She wore her hair in long braids, and had large hazel eyes.

"And finally, please give a warm welcome to the Gryffindor team Seeker… the one and only BEN WRONSKI!!!"

He shouted Ben's name, and the whole Gryffindor side of the pitch exploded with cheers, drowning out the small amount of Slytherin boos. Al watched in awe as Wronski flew full speed out, a red and gold blur fifty feet in the air. He did a few flips and loops, then floated there high above the pitch, his square-jawed face smiling slightly at the loud welcome.

"Now, the Slytherin team! The Captain and Seeker, please welcome Kyle Bones!"

Al had been unaware that Kyle was a Seeker; he knew the boy was Captain of the Quidditch team, a prefect, and an experienced duelist, but he had no idea he was a Seeker. Kyle was very good on a broom, and he eyed Wronski as if he expected him to have the Snitch in his hand at any moment.

After introducing the rest of the team, which was almost all sixth and seventh years, Sam yelled, "Master Wood has released the Snitch, and both Bludgers… He's got the Quaffle, and they're off!"

Sam's last sentence corresponded with Wood's magically amplified whistle. The large red ball was passed from Matthewson to Corner easily, but as Corner sped up with it under his arm, two of the seventh-year Chasers from Slytherin, Nott and Tremp, sandwiched Corner and caused him to fumble the Quaffle. It fell below the three, and was caught by the third Slytherin Chaser, Devon. Devon sped up on almost a ninety degree angle, but as he attempted to pass to Tremp, Kastslov intercepted and swung around in mid-air, passing back to Corner, who scored.

"What a play!" Yelled Sam excitedly. Al watched in awe as, above all the other players, Wronski sped up and avoided a Bludger that was hit in his direction by a Slytherin Beater, who was very fat and very beefy.

"What a dodge," Al said to Scorpius as they whooted and cheered. Slytherin had scored. It was now ten-ten.

"I know; Wronski's great, isn't he? I'm not surprised though; I hear his dad wouldn't even let him get a girlfriend last year. Said it would distract him from Quidditch. He's in training class all summer and he's bound for the Goblins fresh out of Hogwarts, just like his dad was."

They continued watching, anticipated and on the edge of their seats. Rose jumped gleefully when Wronski helped evade a Slytherin Chaser while looking for the Snitch. "He's not just handsome, he's good at Quidditch, too!" Scorpius gritted his teeth so loudly Al could hear it over the sudden roar of wind.

"Got bloody cold, didn't it?" Asked a Ravenclaw student below them. Scorpius and Rose didn't seem to notice; they were discussing Scorpius's Quidditch skills.

"…Oh, really, I just said he was handsome! Stop being so defensive--"

"I'm good at Quidditch, you've just never seen me play. Trust me, I'm a way better Beater than any of those idiots. You think Fatty over there can hit a Bludger?"

Before Rose could reply, something very eerie occurred; What looked like jet-black Patronuses appeared from somewhere near the tower; They were like black ghosts, their misty, smoky appearance making the hairs on Al's neck stand up.

They had a more liquid-like movement, and they floated through the air toward the two highest (and thus, closest) players to them; the two Seekers.

Wronski and Kyle shouted with fright when the large creatures appeared; they had the ability of screeching and making high-pitched, freakish sounds, unlike the normally mute Patronus produced by the average wizard. They had strange forms, too; they looked like dragons at first, but Albus soon realized they were long serpents with large bat-like wings. There were four in all.

Wood's whistle was so shrill it cut through the air louder than the noises produced by the vicious, dark creatures that had suddenly appeared. Horrified, the students and most staff fled the stands; the remaining six players on each team landed on the grass and started running. Wood mounted his broom, as he had landed briefly before the creatures had appeared, and sped up straight at Kyle and Ben.

Al, Scorpius and Rose stood up, but didn't follow the flow of running students. They watched, along with a few of the braver students around them as Wood attempted to fire a jet of red light at the closest of the serpentine monsters.

"Stunning spell," said Rose knowledgably. "Quite ineffective, as you can see, on creatures made of _mist_, for heaven's sake."

Behind them, O'Leary, Professor Whitby and Professor Retskope were all casting different spells at the black Patronuses. O'Leary had conjured some sort of electric-blue whip made of light from the end of his wand, which reached from the stands to the air at least forty feet. It cracked the air near the creatures, but seemed to burn up into a crip of ash when one of the creatures touched it.

Retskope roared, "_Expecto Patronum_!" And aimed his wand at the sky above them. Al focused his eyes to see what Retskope's Patronus was; It was the most bone chilling, but yet striking creature he had ever seen. It had to be magical; unlike his parents, who's were a stag and a horse, this was one of the rare magical creatures that only sixth or seventh year students in Care for Magical Creatures class could learn about.

It was a large cat, or at least Al thought it was. But after a moment he saw it was a combination of many creatures; it had a lion's body, but was the size of a bear. It's front calws were outstretched viciously, and it had a long, thin scorpion's tail. In the centre of its silvery main was a humanoid, demonic face; this was a face Albus could only picture in his nightmares. On its shoulders, extended out to allow it flight, were a pair of outstretched dragon wings.

Shocked, Albus turned to Rose and asked, "What is that?" She shook her head in awe. "A-- a manticore. They're native to Greece, and extremely rare. There aren't many left in the world. They're also extremely dangerous."

Scorpius gulped beside them. "You think?" He said sarcastically as the Patronus tackled one of the smoky-black creatures and it evaporated into nothingness. The Patronus wasn't done; it resume attack by striking with its silvery tail and hitting the second creature with it, causing it to vanish, too.

The final two were driven away back to the tower before the Patronus could deal with them.

Retskope dropped his wand into his inner robes, and turned to his students. "Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy and Miss Weasley, please return to the castle."

He then addressed the few other students who had witnessed the attack, and everyone obeyed without hesitation.


	15. Chapter Fifteen: Departure

_**-Chapter Fifteen- **_

_**Departure**_

It had been a long, sleepless night filled with much discussion about the attack. Many people had theories as to how the dark Patronuses appeared.

"…And Giligan from Ravenclaw reckons the Dementors casted them," Scorpius was saying as they ate breakfast in the Great Hall the next day. Rose snorted. "Yes, because they wield wands, don't they?" Scorpius puffed up indignantly. "I don't see you coming up with any ideas as to how they suddenly popped up. What, do you think the _tower_ just spat them out?"

Albus wasn't paying attention. He was watching the long table at the front of the Hall, where Retskope usually sat. He was nowhere to be seen.

"Where do you suppose Retskope's gone?" Asked Al as Rose and Scorpius bickered. Scorpius turned to his friend and replied, "No idea, but I feel like visiting Hagrid today for lunch. What do you guys think?"

They both agreed and after some lazing around in the corridors, they all made their way through the crisp autumn air to Hagrid's hut.

"Bloody hell, you can really feel winter on its way, can't you?" Muttered Al as they rapt on Hagrid's door. Fang's loud barking made them all jump; the door opened and Hagrid smiled, wearing a much-too-small apron and oven mits.

"Come in, then," he said, grinning at them. "Git outta' the cold, an' come on in. Had a feelin' you three would be on yer way, what with the Quidditch fiasco las' night."

They stepped into the warmth of the cabin (Hagrid had his fireplace going) and sat down at the table. Pulling a pan from the oven, Hagrid cut them all a slice of what looked like tar-- in pie-form. Pretending to eat his, Albus asked, "What were those things last night, Hagrid?"

Hagrid threw them a grave look. "I'm happy not knowin'. Yeh haven't bin readin' the _Prophet_, have yeh? Look a' this."

He passed them a copy of that morning's _Daily Prophet_. Al read the heading out loud. "_Dark Magic Now a Regular Occurrence at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_."

Scorpius swore under his breath, and Rose gasped when she saw an artist's interpritation of the dark creatures from the night before. Like a magical photgraph, the illustration moved eerily on the page.

"What do you think they were Hagrid?" asked Albus as he glanced up from the page. Hagrid shook his head. "I'm thinkin' them Dementors were what done it. Jus' a theory, though." Scorpius threw Al and Rose a look of triumph. "Ha!" He said as Rose rolled her eyes and tried to reason with Hagrid as she had with Scorpius.

After some more discussion about the dark Patronuses, Hagrid opened a window for the steam from their tea to escape out of. "Whew!" Shouted Hagrid, closing the window with such force it almost shattered. "Tha's cold! It's tha' bloody tower, bringin' winter to Hogwarts already."

Later that afternoon, they decided to head up to the school to get some homework done. "Stay outta trouble!" Shouted Hagrid before he shut the door behind them. Scorpius grinned and muttered to Al, "Not making any promises." Albus hadn't yet mentioned to his friends about the promise he had made to Dumbledore's portrait up in O'Leary's office. Part of him wanted to very badly; however, with everything going on he decided to keep it to himself right now.

They made their way to the library, where they studied until it closed for the night. Then, Scorpius and Al parted ways from Rose and decided to go to bed early.

**A.S.P.**

The rest of November dragged on slowly for Al; he continued having nightmares, albeit rarely, and most of them now were accompanied by the dark sepentine Patronuses from the Quidditch match.

All Quidditch matches had been postponed due to weather (or at least that's what O'Leary said; Al knew it was because he didn't want another attack), and quite a few first years had already left for 'early holidays' requested by their worried parents. Albus overheard O'Leary and Retskope in a corridor one evening, discussing how the school could potentially close because of the tower.

Weather was getting worse by the day; it was now freezing rain almost all the time, and the clouds were very dark and various horrific shapes, such as skulls, Grims and the odd freakish lizard-like creature.

Retskope seemed very under the weather these days; he was thinner, paler, and had a look of tiredness to him that would've put even Remus Lupin to shame. He rarely attended class anymore; instead, Professor Longbottom taught class if needed.

It was a week before Christmas, already well into the month of December when Al and Rose discussed leaving Hogwarts for the holidays.

"Obviously, like everyone else you probably want to leave," said Rose as they walked together to Herbology. Al shook his head. "It's not that I want to, it's more that I have to for my health-- or at least that's what Madam Parvati thinks." Shrugging, Rose answered, "Has Scorpius invited you to stay at his mansion over the break?" Al nodded. "Yeah, didn't he ask you?" Rose sighed. "Well, our parents would be against it in the first place, since I'm a girl, and the fact that Grandad Weasley punched Draco Malfoy's father in the face once in a bookstore, I don't think it would be a very good idea. I say we let things simmer for awhile."

"And you think _I'll _be anymore welcome?!" Al asked, shocked. "Our dad's hated each other when they went to school here."

Rose frowned. "Well, his parents did say it was alright, Al. Besides, it's only for two weeks. Just go, it'll be fun."

They dashed through the blizzarding snow, shivering under their winter cloaks. Al decided he would pack later that night for the holidays.

The next morning, both Albus and Scorpius awoke rested and ready to board the Hogwarts Express down in Hogsmeade. Rose would be returning to her small bungalow with Hermione, Hugo, and hopefully Ron, if he could get time off for the holidays. The three of them sat together on the train ride to King's Cross station.


	16. Chapter Sixteen: Malfoy Manor

_**-Chapter Sixteen- **_

_**Malfoy Manor **_

As they got off the train, Scorpius passed his luggage to his father, Draco; Draco was about Harry's height, Albus could see, with the same white-blond hair his son had inherited; He had cropped it short since his teenage years and stopped slicking it back. It was receeding with a hairline at the front, signifying that Mr. Malfoy would probably be almost bald by forty.

He was still handsome, however, though not as much as in his youth. He was pale, with a pointed face and grey eyes. Today, he wore a black winter cloak trimmed with bear fur.

Astoria Malfoy, Draco's wife and Scorpius's mother had dark brown hair that looked magically darkened, as if she was paranoid of it going grey. She looked younger than Mr. Malfoy by at least a couple years, and was a head shorter than him-- in fact, her son was almost as tall as her. She had a pale face, though it had more coulour in it than Draco's, a trait she seemed to have passed on to her son. Another was her eyes; they were dark blue, almost black, which reminded Al of Hagrid's for a moment.

Astoria wore earmuffs because of the freezing winds and a long fur coat. She smiled politely at Albus for (he counted) exactly six seconds. Draco didn't nod or smile at his son's best friend; he simply tried his best to ignore him.

"Mum, Dad, you haven't officially met Al yet. Albus, these are my parents, Astoria and Draco--"

"Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy, to you, dear," said a voice from behind them. Ginny was walking over, bundled up in a jacket with Lily at her side. Albus hugged his sister as Ginny shook Astoria's hand. "Ginny Potter," she said with a small smile. "Albus, mind your manors when your with Scorpius's family, please."

Al went red. "Ok, mum, Ok."

She turned to Draco who parted his lips to reveal his teeth briefly, but didn't actually smile. Ginny didn't shake hands with Draco, but she smiled all the same and said, "Where've they got you now, Draco? I heard you took a job when you turned eighteen in the Curse-Breaking department at Gringotts from my brother, Bill; he's head of the department now."

Draco nodded, looking as if he didn't want to be in the freezing cold discussing his passed job-like with Ginny. "Er, yes, I did. Father didn't like me working with Goblins, said they were untrustworthy. So he got me a job at the Ministry as a Dark Magic Trace Detector."

Ginny nodded. "I was sorry to hear that he'd passed away; anyway, enough of that-- Albus, you behave! I'll write to you tomorrow. Love you."

She hugged and kissed Albus on the cheek, and he hugged Lily before they left the platform to find Hermione, Hugo, Rose and James.

"C'mon, Al," said Scorpius, helping Al with his luggage. They passed through the barrier easily unnoticed, and Albus followed Scorpius and his parents out to a car blanketed in snow. It looked like an old-fashioned, expensive Muggle car that was jet black and shiny. A silver, serpentine head was mounted on the front hood.

"Dad bought this off some old Italian wizard a few years back," said Scorpius. "We barely ever use it, though; its not even that magical. All it really does is expand for space."

Sure enough, like Al's family car the trunk of Draco's enlarged to fit Al and Scorpius's luggage. They closed the trunk and Astoria got in the car while Draco flicked his wand at the windows and windshield to get rid of the snow.

They all got in and waited for the car to warm up, then Draco backed up out of the parking spot and drove off onto the main road.

About half an hour of silent driving along Muggle highways (Astoria and Draco would speak to each other to break tension, while Al and Scorpius discussed Quidditch in the back seat), Draco pulled onto a small side road surrounded on both sides by forest.

Finally, after twisting and turning through winding roads (some even appeared to be abandoned), they passed through what Scorpius said was a mostly Muggle village, with some high-ranking Ministry officials living there. He pointed out the current residence of Horace Slughorn to Al, a four-floor cottage home that looked quite comfy. Apparently, the elderly former-headmistress Minerva McGonnagal lived somewhere around here.

Finally, just outside the village they pulled into a long driveway. There were high hedges and gates; the manor itself was quite large, but was just as Al pictured it.

"Scorpius, help Albus with his things. I'll get yours."

This was the first thing Al heard from Draco, aside from his discussion with Ginny on Platform 9 ¾. He still had a slow, drawling voice, but it had more authority to it now.

Astoria unlocked the doors from the end of the driveway with her wand; Scorpius and Al brought Al's things in, while Draco followed closely behind them with his son's luggage.

Inside, Albus saw an array of different archways leading into different rooms of the house; a large, spiralling staircase led up to the second floor of the house, twirling around a golden chandelier. Many oak-framed photos were pinned to the walls; Albus saw one in black-and-white, taken with a seemingly very old magical camera. It moved, as most pictures in the wizarding world did; the man inside, however, stood very still. He wore what looked like a military uniform of some sort, and had a handlebar moustache that was connected to his sideburns. He had grey eyes, a weather-hardened face and blond hair that was slicked back.

"My great-grandfather," said Scorpius, noticing Al's eyes on the photo. "Abraxas Malfoy. Don't know much about him, but I named Braxas after him. That bloke there with the kids is one of my ancestors on the Malfoy side, old Brutus… hated Muggles with a passion, he did. See the baby his wife's holding? I'm pretty sure that's Abraxas's father."

Al nodded, and continued watching the still, barely moving photos. "Who's that?" He asked, pointing to a family picture hanging near the bottom of the staircase. A man with dress robes and a walking stick similar to Al's grandfather's stood next to his wife and son; he had long blond hair and grey eyes. His son was almost identical to Scorpius, and looked about the same age; except he had a snide look on his face. The boy's mother had long blonde hair and a pointed nose.

"My grandparents, and my dad when he was twelve," said Scorpius. "Grandma still looks the same, only more wrinkles and her hair's snow white. And Grandpa, who I never met died awhile before I was born. Dragon Pox he inherited from his father killed him. Dad's doctor said he'd probably get them too later on, so Dad and I both got vaccinated with an immunity potion."

Al had heard this story before; Scorpius had informed Rose about his grandfather's death on their first train ride to Hogwarts.

"Come on," said Scorpius, dragging his bags up the stairs. "I'll show you my room--"

But Al had started looking at something else, on the opposite wall as most of the pictures; it was a velvet, miniature replica of the Black Family Tree, the one Al had seen a few years prior when his father took him to Number 12 Grimmauld Place.

Connected by a single strip of felt (which was violet, signifying marriage) was an even smaller Family Tree; the top said in gothic writing 'Greengrass' and had Astoria's parents names at the top. Under this were the names Daphne and Astoria, then under Astoria's and Draco's marriage line was Scorpius's name.

"See, look," said Al, pointing out some names that were familiar on the Black Family tree. "Septimus Weasley… Charlus Potter… Ew, there's a Goyle, I guess that makes us related to that Gertha girl who's always glaring."

Laughing, they headed upstairs and passed many guest rooms, work rooms and a couple bathrooms. At the end of the hall, the master bedroom that had once been Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy's was now Draco and Astoria's. The one across the hall from it, which was only slightly smaller had once been Draco's nursery, then bedroom as a teenager. It now belonged to Scorpius.

"Wow," was all Albus managed to say as he entered the large, beautiful bedroom; it had a small chandelier of its own, a four poster bed with curtains and gold trimming around the carpets. It was immaculately cleaned; Astoria must've gotten some cleaning done while her son was at school. The only thing out of place in the huge room, which could have belonged to an elderly bachelore, let alone a twelve-year-old boy, was the black and red poster on the wall; written in messy, gothic, blood-red writing at the top was the word 'DRACONIFORS'.

Underneath the title, there were four wizards who wore more chains and leather than actualy clothing; one of them had hair that was over a foot high, in the Mohawk style.

"Whoa! You never told me you listened to Draconifors!" Grinning, Scorpius nodded. "Yeah, they're great, aren't they? Mum and Dad don't like me listening to them, because they call them rubbish… have you heard their unreleased song yet? It's written by Mort's cousin, and it's all in troll."

Laughing, Al and Scorpius unpacked their things and Scorpius set up a magically folding king-sized bed from his closet for Albus. Then, they headed downstairs for some lunch.

"What do you think of the place?" Asked Scorpius, who looked pleased with himself. Al just nodded; his home made many wizard's, and especially their neighbours in Godric's Hollow (who all lived in small cottages) envious; but he couldn't help but wish he had his own Potter Mansion waiting for him back home after seeing Scorpius's house.


	17. Chapter Seventeen:Holidays With Narcissa

_**-Chapter Seventeen-**_

_**Holidays With Narcissa **_

The next morning, Albus awoke to Scorpius nudging him. He sat up, rubbed sleep from his eyes and yawned. Then, looking around he said, "Morning. I'm starving, are you?"

Scorpius's stomach growled, and he replied, "Always. I've told you about my metabolism; how do you think I manage to go three three helpings a meal?" Shaking his head and grinning, Al stood up and said, "Come on, let's go have some breakfast."

They made their way to the kitchen, down the spiralling staircase and passed the portraits and photos on the walls. They entered a high-ceiling room with a long oak table in the centre. A golden velvet table cloth lay on it, and reading the _Daily Prophet _at the end of the table over small, pearly spectacles was Mr. Malfoy.

"Scorpius," he said, glancing up, "Your mother's made you some breakfast. She went to do some tidying; woman clean's too much. We need a house-elf…"

He threw Albus a strange look, and Al flushed; he remembered bedtime stories his Aunt Hermione told him about how cruel Lucius Malfoy had treated Dobby, the late house-elf and friend of Al's father. Dobby had once been a slave to the Malfoy family.

"Great! Pancakes, waffles, French toast, bacon, eggs… go on, Al, dig in."

They carried plates of food to the table, where they ate and drank ice cold pumpkin juice almost as good as the pumpkin juice at Hogwarts. Finally, their stomachs full, both boys sat back to allow their food to digest.

"So, Dad, what's the plan today?" Draco didn't look up as he replied, "No work for me, I'm off on holidays. Your grandmother's coming up today, by Floo Powder of course. She'll be staying as usual for the rest of the holidays."

He looked up at Al, who tried not to make eye contact with Draco; Scorpius sat up straight and said, "Great. What time's she getting here?"

Glancing at a tall, antique grandfather clock behind him, Draco said, "Noon. It's quarter-to now." He continued reading. Al saw on the front page of the _Prophet _a picture of tower at Hogwarts; the heading read _AURORS INVESTIGATING FORBIDDEN TOWER, HOGWARTS' FATE TO BE DETERMINED AFTER HOLIDAYS._

"Hogwarts' fate?" Asked Al, who seemed confused. Draco looked up again, then flipped the paper closed to scan over the headline. "It may close down before the holidays are through," he said, while Scorpius and Al stared at him, dumbstruck. "Unless the Aurors can do anything to get rid of it; I say have Hagrid sick a dragon on it, tear the thing down once and for all."

Al and Scorpius went out to the yard after this, walking around in the crunchy snow and passing ponds, fountains and magnificent gardens that seemed to be in bloom even in the winter time. Astoria called them in awhile later.

"Scorpius! Come inside and get dressed into some nice clothes-- lend your friend some dress robes, will you?"

He and Albus went upstairs and changed; "Why do we need to dress up?" Asked Al uncertainly as Scorpius pulled a collared dress robe over his head. "Grandmother," he replied gravely. "Don't say anything stupid, Al. Sorry; I know I sound harsh, but don't introduce yourself as the son of Harry Potter. It'll be tense enough as it is."

Al shrugged. "But my dad helped her, back when Voldemort almost killed him; she had to check and see if my dad was dead or not, and she asked him whether your dad was alive. They helped each other." Nodding, Scorpius replied, "I brought that up when she scolded me over the summer for becoming friends with you. She stopped after I did, so maybe it'll work this time too."

As they made their way down the staircase, Albus saw from the corner of his eye in the living room that in one of the large marble fireplaces, the flames had gone from small, crackling orange to six and a half feet tall, whooshing green fire.

Albus had travelled by Floo Powder many times before; he usually used it to go to and from Shell Cottage, where his aunt and uncle lived with their children, or to Teddy's house when Andromeda invited them for supper.

Stepping out of the flames, which died down back to crackling red embers was a tall, thin woman; she was only about an inch or two shorter than her son, and she was even taller than Astoria. She wore warm green travelling cloaks and a shawl; her fur-tripped, heeled boots thudded lightly on the hardwood floor of the living room.

She had painted her fingernails in a red-green, red-green pattern for the Christmas holidays; they were long and claw-like. On her left hand ring finger she wore a golden ring with a smooth, clear green emerald set into it that resembled the colour of Al's eyes. Narcissa Malfoy had aged well, despite being a grandmother and a widow; she had only a few wrinkles and she didn't look as unpleasant as when Harry had first met her.

Her hair had grown very long; it was passed her waist, and was very straight. It had gone from blonde to snow-white, and her thin lips curled into a sneer when she saw Albus, standing shyly next to her grandson.

She only had one bag; it was large, and appeared heavy. It was also over her shoulder, but her son grabbed it quickly and said, "Mother, welcome." He hugged her, and she smiled, saying, "Oh, my little Draco. So nice of you to invite your mother for Christmas."

Asotria hugged her mother-in-law, saying, "It wouldn't be Christmas with out you, Narcissa." Albus wanted to make a vommitting noise in bad taste, but didn't out of politeness.

"Oh, Scorpius Hyperion! You've gotten so much taller since last time I visited-- and rounder, too. You'd best be holding back on the sweets, dear, or you'll come out looking like the pork we're having with Christmas dinner."

Al couldn't help but snort as Scorpius went red and hugged his grandmother. "Good to see you, Gran," he said. "This is my best friend, Albus Potter. We got to school together, and I invited him to stay with us for the holidays."

Narcissa looked Albus over; "Didn't his own family want him?" She asked, a snippy overtone in her voice. Al's hand curled into a fist in his pocket, over the handle of his wand; he forced a smile and laughed (it sounded very fake), then said, "Good one, Ms. Malfoy."

She nodded. "Yes, well, it looks like you've got _some_ manners. Did he tell you, Scorpius? His grandmother killed my sister."

There was an immediate, ringing silence; Draco coughed to the point where he sounded like he'd been smoking since he was ten; he pretended to have to leave the room; Astoria stood awkwardly to the side, humming to no particular tune at all.

"Oh," said Scorpius. "I, uh, didn't know. That's--"

"Murder," she finished icily, surveying Al. Heart beating fast, Al's temper started rising. "Murder, was it? I heard different; I was told it was defence, seeing as Bellatrix Lestrange had already murdered my dad's godfather, her own cousin… killed an innocent house-elf--"

"A treacherous house-elf, I will have you know!" Siad Narcissa, her voice rising. Al continued, "And tortured our Herbology teacher's parents into insanity."

This, apparently, had never been dinner conversation; Scorpius's jaw dropped, and his mother gasped. There was an odd yelping sound from the hall; they all looked to see Draco striding back into the room, absolutely no colour left in his face.

"Well, then, let's just put the past behind us, shall we?"

Glaring at each other, Albus and Narcissa followed Scorpius into the kitchen; Astoria asked for some help with preparing dinner, and Narcissa didn't hesitate to give her a hand.

Later that night, Al and Scorpius were up in Scorpius's room, the radio on. Scorpius tapped it with his wand, tuning it to a certain station.

"And, search continues for young Auror Teddy Lupin. Still, no leads… Head of Auror Department Harry Potter believes Teddy's disappearance is connected to the Forbidden Tower at Hogwarts…"

Scorpius shook his head. "Rubbish," he said. "Same as always; hey, Draconifors is on this station."

Albus sighed, and said, "Sorry about what I said to your grandmother. I just let my temper get the better of me."

Scorpius waved it off. "Don't worry about it. It's Christmas soon, anyway, so let's just try to get it off our minds. It was her fault, anyway."

They went to sleep shortly after that, getting more and more excited about Christmas.


	18. Chapter Eighteen: Presents By Owl

_**-Chapter Eighteen- **_

_**Presents By Owl **_

After a quiet night on Christmas Eve, Albus and Scorpius retreated to Scorpius's bedroom. Narcissa had announced (after her fourth glass of brandy) that she had a surprise Christmas present for her son's family; she'd be picking it up that night from her mansion, and returning with it for Christmas morning.

"What do you think she's gotten you?" Asked Al as he changed into his pyjamas. Scorpius shrugged, jumping into his bed. "I've got no idea; hopefully she got you something though, too."

Al laughed hollowly. "I doubt it. She doesn't like me, much. I'm pretty sure if I wasn't in Slytherin she'd have poisoned my pumpkin juice by now."

They were too excited to sleep that night; instead, they listened for the loud whoosh from the living room that meant Narcissa had left to get her gift. They fell asleep, however, before she returned.

In the morning, it was very early when Scorpius shook Al awake. "What time is it?" He asked, very tired. Scorpius grinned. "Eight o'clock! C'mon, I got my parents up a few minutes ago. Dad said he'd wake Gran."

They headed downstairs, stretching and yawning. In the living room, underneath a great green pine tree almost as big as those at Hogwarts, were the most presents Albus had ever seen. He was so used having Christmas with such a large family, he didn't usually expect to see hundreds of presents with just his name on them.

However, every present under the tree had Scorpius's name on it. Al's stomach sank quite a bit. He'd known not to expect a lot of presents, since he wasn't at the Burrow. But he'd expected at least one or two from Astoria and Draco.

Scorpius had noticed this, too. As his parents and grandmother made their way down the stairs, he asked immediately, "Where're Al's gifts?"

They looked a little guilty; Scorpius had dashed to the closet near the door. He brought out a large box, wrapped in emerald green paper with a silver bow on top. "Here," he said, grunting as he set it down in front of his friend. "This is mine, for you."

Al wasn't done being surprised, however; Scorpius returned yet again with two smaller presents and a stocking full of sweets and toys from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. He must've gotten them from James and Fred before the holidays, thought Al.

The large present turned out to be a complete Quidditch uniform and gear set; Al had seen the same one in a shop window in Diagon Alley over the summer. It had been very expensive, and he thanked Scorpius numerous times. "For tryouts in a few years," said his friend, grinning. "I got it, too. See? Slytherin colours, it's all a few sizes too big because we have to grow into the stuff. Mine came with a Beater's bat, yours came with a practice Quaffle."

Grinning, Al replied, "Thanks a lot, Scorpius, it's great."

The smaller presents were dress robes from Astoria (Scorpius had to nag her about it before the holidays until she bought them for Albus) and a tiny bottle of wand-polish from Draco. Al thanked Astoria, who nodded frantically and tried to smile; he attempted to thank Draco, but the man simply left the room every time Al looked at him.

Narcissa, of course, hadn't gotten Al anything. She'd bought her grandson half the presents under the tree, though, while the other half was from Draco and Astoria. After he'd opened them all, Astoria levitated Al's and Scorpius's gifts up the stairs to Scorpius's room.

"Breakfast?" Asked Scorpius, but before Albus could reply there was a loud flapping sound from outside the living room window; suddenly, a handsome owl that belonged to Hogwarts was perched outside the window, a parcel tied to its leg.

Draco let the owl in, and it landed beside Al. He untied the parcel, and read the small card taped to it. It was from Hagrid, and it said, _Have yerselves a good Christmas, Al and Scorpius! -Hagrid_

Opening it, Albus discovered Hagrid had bought them both a copy of _The Monster Book of Monsters_ for their third year. Rose had obviously mentioned that they'd be taking it with her as an elective.

"Did he tie it up?" Asked Draco, sipping from his coffee mug. Al raised an eyebrow, but suddenly knew what Mr. Malfoy meant; the book was very vicious, and had fangs between its back and front covers. Hagrid had spellotaped the books closed vigorously. Draco gave a small, sarcastic smile; "You've got to stroke them," he said, as if he found something funny about it.

As the Hogwarts owl departed, another owl took its place while Albus and Scorpius ate breakfast; it was a very large eagle owl with bronze eyes. Al recognized it as his brother's owl, Thor. Tied to its leg was a small box, which Al soon found out was a prototype sweet not yet released by his uncle's shop.

Rose was the next to send an owl, which looked like one of her relative's. She'd gotten Al a comic book written by a wizard about Muggles, and Scorpius a geneology book about family trees in the wizarding world.

"Haha, so we are related!" Said Scorpius.

After his parents presents and other relative's had arrived, Albus assured Scorpius's parents that no more owls would be arriving for him. Finally, at around lunchtime, Narcissa announced that she'd go up to her guest room and bring down her gift.

She entered the living room a moment later with a small, thin creature at her side; it was up to Al's waist, and had wide eyes and floppy, bat-like ears. The creature wore an old table cloth tied around its body as make-shift clothing. Al had seen a few of these before at school, as they worked in the kitchens tirelessly preparing meals. It was a house-elf.

Rich wizarding families usually owned house-elves to do their cooking, cleaning and other chores for them. It was a house-elf's duty to obey their master until death; they physically injured or harmed themselves if they did not fulfill a task or obey an order.

"This," said Narcissa, gesturing to the house elf, "Is Blinky."

Albus was about to ask why she called him Blinky, but he suddenly noticed the creature's round, sky-blue eyes blinking at high speeds. Stiffling a laugh, Albus looked at Scorpius, who was a bit confused.

"What do we need a house-elf for, though?" He asked. His father approached Blinky; "Elf," he said, "We are your masters now, you will obey us. Understood?"

Blinky looked terrified; he nodded his head, and Draco said, "Go upstairs to my son's room and organise his presents. Thank you."

Blinky made his way up the stairs. Al shook his head slowly. "But weren't house-elves made illegal by the Ministry years ago?"

Narcissa threw him a look. "Not illegal, but it is frowned upon to have one nowadays. I think that's rubbish; They're quite useful to our world."

Astoria thanked Narcissa, and Scorpius grabbed Al, pulling him over to the fireplace.

"Come on, let's go see Blinky," he said. They headed upstairs to meet the house-elf.


	19. Chapter Nineteen: Spring Fever

_**-Chapter Nineteen-**_

_**Spring Fever **_

As it turned out, the holidays weren't going very well at Hogwarts-- Students were sent home on the last day of holidays for an 'extra long vacation'. O'Leary closed the school temporarily the following morning, when everyone had gone.

Albus had spent New Years with the Malfoys, and had tried his best to tolerate Scorpius's grandmother. She left in the afternoon on New Years Day. Albus and Scorpius had tried to tell Blinky, the timid house-elf not to beat himself up every time he made a mistake, but he refused. Aside from his shyness and the fact that he broke Scorpius's lamp every time he hit himself with it, he seemed friendly enough.

"We can't tell Rose about him," said Al, as they watched the little house-elf conjure a broom from out of nowhere. "She believes in treating them like humans as much as my aunt… Thinks it's cruel to have one."

"Can't blame her," said Scorpius, biting into a stale Christmas cookie. "I'm glad Gran's gone; couldn't stand enother day with her."

Albus turned his gaze from the sweeping elf to the window outside; the sun was poking out, and he'd almost forgotten what it looked like. According to Rose's last letter, it had been a blizzard when the students left Hogsmeade station, and the snow had been knee-high.

"You look tired," said Scorpius. Albus looked at his friend. "Just a bit depressed; when do you think they'll reopen Hogwarts?"

Scorpius shrugged, throwing the remains of his half-eaten cookie into the waste bin. "No idea. Let's go play some Quidditch to get our minds off it; we can try out our new gear, too."

They headed outside ten minutes later, weighed down considerably by their too-big outfits. They played for about an hour, Scorpius smacking immitation bludgers at Al, who tried out some single player moves with his practice Quaffle.

**A.S.P. **

It was the first day of March when classes began again; Such a long break practically killed Al's spirit. He'd returned to his own house on January 5th. His father had barely been home since Al returned. He saw Rose often, however, and told her about his stay with Scorpius (except the parts about Blinky).

When they walked through the doors of the Great Hall on March 1st, Albus smiled at the welcoming castle walls he had missed so much. The snow was starting to melt, but it was still gloomy and very rainy; this, sadly, was the spring they had to endure.

Retskope appeared to have gotten a bit better over the holidays; he was now back to himself, and aside from being thinner than usual, he looked fine to Al. He welcomed them to class later in the day, and as they took their seats he addressed them warmly. "I apologize for my absence in many classes lately," he said, "I have been very unwell. That, sadly, is what the Dark Arts can do to a person. I must be honest with you all that it was indeed the appearance of the tower that gave me such bad health.

"Now, we can begin our study of Muggle myths and how they relate to actual dark entities of our world. If you'd please turn to page fourteen of your textbooks…"

They read the entire chapter in class, and after being dismissed with now homework, the students made their way out the door. However, Albus was called back as he, Scorpius and Rose made their way to their next class. Scorpius stopped, too, despite not being called back-- however, Rose pulled him by the arm out the door.

"Professor?" Asked Al as he slung his bag over his shoulder. Retskope looked up at him, looking grave. "Albus," he said, "I'm afraid I must be honest with you. I wrote to your father before class to summon him here; Professor O'Leary will be calling us down when he arrives."

Albus's jaw dropped. "Why? What's going on?"

Retskope sighed. "Over the holidays I proceeded with two of your father's most trusted Aurors to attempt to reach the top of the tower. We used broomsticks; however, once we were a foot below the windows at the top of the tower, we were attacked by Dementors and the same dark Patronuses you saw at the Quidditch match.

"Your uncle and father were on the Teddy Lupin case, continuing their search for him near Wiltshire. They arrived in the nick of time to help us fend off the dark creatures, but one of the Aurors fell and broke his arm. A night in St. Mungo's was all it took to heal him, but stil…"

Albus interrupted. "Professor, what does this have to do with me?" Retskope looked away, avoiding eye contact with Al.

"You are far different than anyone I've ever attempted to… read. You understand that when I attempted to enter your mind with Legilligmency that it was very difficult to interperet your thoughts. You have a very complex mind, Albus. And thus, the tower has chosen you, of all the students here at Hogwarts, to attack mentally. It will only get worse from here on; we believe Teddy's disappearance was the tower's doing, and the fact that he is now imprisoned in the tower is to lure you there. That is the reason I had Professor Dumbledore speak with you; so you could promise him you wouldn't attempt to save Teddy. It would only be putting yourself in danger."

Al backed away, feeling strange; his head started pounding. "It knows," he whispered. "It-- Professor…"

He fell forward, flat on his face on the floor; Scorpius and Rose, who'd been listening near the door rushed in to help; Retskope whipped out his wand and yelled, "Get the nurse, now, Scorpius! Rose, to O'Leary's office-- the password is Drewbles!"

They both ran from the classroom, dropping their bags as they went. Retskope attempted to renervate Albus, but to no avail.

Al began to sweat profusely; his face and forehead became extremely hot; his eyes, beneath his eyelids rolled to the back of his head and his mouth became very dry. He'd gotten some sort of fever, and it was getting increasingly worse.

**A.S.P.**

Darkness engulfed Albus; he was lying on the cold, classroom floor-- or was he? The floor couldn't be _this _cold. He stood up, shivering; his skin was like ice. He wished he'd been wearing warmer robes. Feeling around in his pocket, he pulled out his wand and stepped forward. No; this wasn't a floor beneath him. It was stone. Was he in some sort of cave? It was damp enough to be a cave.

"You're not in a cave," said a voice behind Al. He shot around, and whispered hoarsely, "_Lumos_!" In front of him stood a man in Muggle clothing; a black suit, with polished dress shoes.

His eyes were cat-like and yellowish; his hair was neatly combed and black.

"Who are you?" Asked Albus. The man laughed. "Albus Severus Potter. Welcome. You have journeyed here with your mind, and that is simply the first step. Now, come here physically. Save him, if you can."

In the palm of his long-fingered hand, an orb of light grew intensely brighter; behind him, in a dingy cell, shackled to the wall was Teddy. Albus ran toward his godfather, calling his name-- but no sound came out. The light dimmed; Teddy was gone.

"Come, and save him," whispered the cruel wizard in Muggle clothing. "Don't be a coward, like the man for who you were named."

"He was no coward!" Albus attempted to croak, but again, he was mute. There was a flash of light, and then, darkness again.


	20. Chapter Twenty: The One Who Sees

_**-Chapter Twenty-**_

_**The One Who Sees **_

Albus opened his eyes for the second time, his eyelids very, very heavy. He felt horrible; beside his bed sat Scorpius, barely awake, and Rose, resting on Scorpius's shoulder in a peaceful slumber.

"Al," said Scorpius, darting upward. Rose fell from his shoulder, and opened his eyes. "Thanks," said Rose sarcastically.

"What's going on?" Asked Albus, trying to stretch; he was achey all over. "What day is it? I keep passing out… I'm going to need a pocket calender soon."

Rose sighed, and answered, "It's been a couple hours since you passed out in class; we just came from dinner. We passed Kingsley Shacklebolt in the hall with my dad, but they left before we could talk to them."

"Was my dad there?" Asked Al, but Scorpius was already responding. "No, he's somewhere else. We heard Retskope and O'Leary talking about getting him here to help. Albus, we think they're going to close down the school."

Al shot up, his stomach lurching painfully. His head was throbbing, and his limbs felt like rubber. "No. They're not closing down the school, I promise you guys they won't. Speaking of promises, I think I'm going to have to break one."

Jumping up, he saw he was in his t-shirt and school pants. He grabbed his robes off the bedside table beside him, and found his wand in one of the pockets. Then, he ran out the back exit of the hospital wing, Scorpius and Rose following quickly behind him.

"Where is it we're going?" Asked Scorpius. "Not on another snake-slaying adventure, I hope--"

They were jogging, now, through the wet grass and darkness toward the outline of the tower in the distance. Within twenty feet of it, they all got chills up their spines.

"Why is it so damn foggy?!" Shouted Scorpius, to which Rose replied, "Dementors must be breeding. It causes a very thick mist.

"Lovely," Came Al's sarcastic reply from ahead; it was extremely thick fog. He raised his hand an inch in front of his face and could barely see its shape.

They'd made it to the forest, and were now all walking, still at a fast pace side-by-side. The fog thinned between the trees, Albus noticed. He saw the base of the tower, now ten feet away.

"Stop!" Shouted a loud, deep voice from somewhere ahead of them, in a different direction of the tower. Galloping over was a tall, palomino centaur with snow-white hair and dazzling blue eyes. He had a thin scar on his face, and his tail swished as he slowed to a stop, between the three students and the tower.

"Professor Firenze," said Rose uncertainly. He smiled and said, "I am with my herd tonight, for some star-gazing. So there are no classes-- you may return to the school, please."

Al brandished his wand. "Please, Firenze, you don't understand! My godfather's up there!"

Firenze glanced at the tower behind him, then looked back at Al. "You are Albus Severus. You are the one who Sees through the tower. It has opened your inner eye."

Scorpius looked the most puzzled, and he ignored what Firenze had just said. He turned to Albus and asked hurriedly, "Why are we trying to get _in_ that thing, Al?! You can't actually believe Teddy's up there!"

Rose looked from Firenze, who simply observed Al, then to her cousin. "Please, Al, let's just go back; we should've thought this through."

He shook his head vigorously and said, "I'm not letting Teddy die."

There were loud galloping noises, now; six other centaurs, led by an olive-toned, wild-looking centaur with black, greying fur and hair approached Firenze and the children.

"Foals!" Shouted a similarily dark centaur near the back of the small herd. "Firenze, are you once again fraternising with humans?"

Firenze turned calmly and replied, "As I do most days of the week while teaching, yes, I am. Bane, this child before me," he gestured to Al, "Is Albus Severus, son of Harry Potter. He is the one who Sees. His inner eye has been opened, and now he goes to the source."

Bane nodded, and answered, "Then let him be, Firenze. Your duties as a centaur come before those of a teacher. We cannot interfere with what is written in the heavens, what is destined to happen. Now come; being near this tower makes me uneasy."

Firenze turned, without another word to the children, and galloped away with his fellow centaurs.

"What the hell?!" Shouted Scorpius, completely dumbstruck. "What in Merlin's beard is going on here?"

Al turned back to the tower. "They said we could go," he said, "So let's go. I've got an idea on how to reach the top."


	21. Chapter TwentyOne: To The Top

_**- Chapter Twenty-One -**_

_**To The Top **_

They walked left, through the thickening trees toward the dim light of Hagrid's cabin. Here, through his back window, Albus saw Hagrid sitting in his large armchair reading through that day's copy of the _Daily Prophet_.

"Be quiet," said Al as he moved like a shadow between giant pumpkins toward the cabin. "Where's he tethered the Thestrals? James said he was using them for a class or something…"

Tied to tree trunks near the back of the pumpkin patch were large Thestrals, the skeletal black flying horses. "See? I can't see them… but I can see the tower," this was Scorpius. Al rolled his eyes and untied one of the invisible creatures. "Speaking of which, can you see the tower yet, Rose?"

Rose nodded. "Everyone can see it, now. That's what's worrying the Ministry. It's revealed itself to everybody."

Albus stood on a knotted tree stump to mount one of the Thestrals. "What are you doing?" Asked Scorpius. "This night just keeps getting worse."

Albus chuckled dryly atop his Thestral; it simply stood there, probably looking bored. He felt its wings just in front of him, and he kicked its sides as he would a horse. "Hee-yah! Come on, fly--"

It let out an odd noise, which resembled a screech and a nay; Then, it was off, up in the air rising above the tree tops.

Albus hadn't gotten far when he heard Scorpius's screams from the ground below; he'd untethered his Thestral and was about to mount it, when it had taken off in the direction of the tower, galloping at full speed away from him.

He had attempted to chase it, but hadn't gotten far when the roots from one of the trees around the tower's base shot out of the ground, slithering like thin snakes toward him. They wound around his legs, tripping him, then around his arms so he couldn't use his wand. Rose was shouting spells at the roots, all of which bounced off.

"Damnit!" Shouted Al, grasping his Thestral's neck firmly to steer it downward. He landed beside Scorpius, and lunged off of his Thestral, wand raised. "_Lacarnum Inflamare_!" He shouted, aiming his wand at the roots; the small flames shot out in bits, one by one, and each flame bounced off or extinguished before even touching the roots.

"They're cursed!" Shouted Rose, raising her own wand to shout Diffindo, the splitting-spell. However, it didn't even leave a scratch on the roots.

Suddenly, a large figure was bursting through the trees; Hagrid was standing beside Al, pushing him from harm's way. There was a blast of blue flame and light form his pink, frilly umbrella, and then the trunk of the tree who's roots had almost completely entangled Scorpius was obliterated; all that remained was a smouldering black tree trunk, about as tall as Al's waist.

The roots crumbled to dust, their cursed tree now destroyed. Hagrid then pointed his wand toward Hogwarts and yelled, "_Expecto Patronum_," sending his dragon Patronus at the castle to warn them he was in the forest.

"You three," he said, "Ain' goin' anywhere tonigh'. Yeh alrigh', Scorpius?"

Scorpius brushed his front off and nodded. "I'm fine," he said. Albus, however, had taken the opportunity to hoist his cousin onto his Thestral's back, then mouthed to Scorpius behind Hagrid's back, 'Do the same'.

He leapt onto the Thestral's back, in front of Rose, and kicked again. It was airborn instantly, and Hagrid was jumping up and down, yelling Al's name and trying to shoot spells at them to return them to the forest floor. Scorpius took advantage just as Al had; he found his Thestral near the smouldering tree stump, mounted it, and yelled, "Up!"

He kicked it frantically, and it too flew up next to Al and Rose. Hagrid was swearing from the ground, sending sparks up passed them to warn Professors Longbottom, Clearwater, Retskope and O'Leary, all of whom were running down to the forest. Harry, Ron, Minister Shacklebolt and Professor Whitby brought up the rear.

"Dad!" Albus called, looking over Rose's shoulder at his father's bewildered face on the ground below. "I'm sorry; the tower will only let me help Teddy!"

He turned away, not wanting to cause anymore harm; the Dementors floated aside, allowing Albus, Scorpius and Rose to fly up to the window hole closest.

They were very far off the ground, and Al's stomach seemed hollow and empty. Gripping his wand tightly in his sweating hand, he leapt from his Thestral's back through the window, fearing he may already be too late to save Teddy.


	22. Chapter TwentyTwo:The Tale of the Tower

_**- Chapter Twenty-Two - **_

_**The Tale of the Tower**_

Al heard his friends behind him, landing on the cool, hard floor of one of the many circular cells around the topmost level of the tower. It was dark and dingy; his eyes adjusted fine, though, and soon he could see the small room, empty aside from some skeletons that had once been prisoners shackled to the wall.

"Good lord," whispered Rose, drawing her own wand. Scorpius shivered beside Al as a Dementor drifted outside the window hole to block it once more.

"Outside the cell," said Albus, "There's a circular room; the walls around it are made up of these cells. In the middle, I don't know it there's a door or something… let's go see."

They approached the bars of the cell, and Scorpius said, "Any ideas on how to get out?" Rose whispered, "_Alohomora_," and pointed her wand at the key hole in the bars. There was a dull clicking, and the bars creaked open.

"Too easy," said Al and Rose at the same time. "It's like it wants us to proceed forward," this was Rose. Scorpius drew his wand, and whispered, "_Lumos_."

Outside the cell was a small, circular floor. It was a black, tar-like and murky substance that seemed almost wavy; the cell directly across the small pool of liquid-shadow was a similar dingy cell, only instead of a skeleton shackled to the wall there was a wizard; he'd grown thinner and paler, looking more like a shell of himself than an actual person. Teddy's hair had gone from bright turquoise to mousy-brown in only a few months. His large beard made him near-unrecognizable.

He was sitting up against the wall, hardly moving. His head had flopped lazily downward and his chin touched his chest as he stared at the floor of his cell.

"Teddy!" Hissed Al, but his godfather didn't seem to hear him. "Teddy!"

This time he'd yelled it; the effect was instantaneous. The centre of the circular floor twirled into a whirlpool; a whoosh of condensed air shot from all the cells at the centre of the room, sending Teddy flying into the bars and Albus, Rose and Scorpius into the black substance between them and Teddy.

"Al!" Screamed Rose, but he saw only a flash of red hair before she was completely submerged in the ice-cold, thick liquid. It was so cold it burned, and Al was yelling for his cousin, his friend and his godfather.

He heard Scorpius splutter before also being dragged under. Teddy's shouts were drowned out as Al was sucked into the darkness and freezing cold below.

It was very compressed but soft, and Al couldn't breathe as he was pushed downward into the next level of the tower, a bit lower. He finally fell free from the dark liquid, which he now saw was the ceiling of the new room he was in. His skin was bumpy with goosebumps, and he was damp, though now soaked, from the odd liquid he had just been thrown through.

Oddly, Scorpius and Rose were not there in the room with him; he'd held onto his wand despite being tossed around, and still had it. He couldn't see his friends anywhere. This room was larger, and completely empty.

From the wall across from him, Al watched in horror as a solid figure passed through it. It was the wizard in Muggle clothes, looking exactly as he had in Al's dream. His bright, yellow eyes stared unblinking at Albus, giving him an eerie feeling. He raised his wand. "Where did you put my friends?" He asked, trying to sound intimidating. "Where's Teddy?!"

Laughing, the man in the suit raised his left hand lazily, and Al was telekinetically thrown into the opposite wall. His hands were pinned up on either side of him, and he couldn't move or speak. His wand dropped below him with a light clatter on the floor. Al's wand shot from the floor to the man's hand, still outstretched; he snapped it with his thumb and palm into two pieces, exposing the shining white unicorn tail-hairs inside.

Dropping the fragments to the floor, the wizard said, "Allow me to explain, Potter… In the Dark Ages, during the time of magic and Muggle wars a wizard King became good friends with a man about his age called Merlin. The Prince of Enchanters, a Charms expert and the most gifted wizard of all time, Merlin believed in peace and co-operation with Muggles. He even introduced his friend to a Muggle woman, and they had a daughter called Morgan le Fay.

"Soon after Morgan's birth, however, her Muggle mother left her with her father to remarry, as she didn't take to all the magic as much. Thinking her mother a witch-hater, Morgan practiced the Dark Arts, becoming quite gifted in time, and learning to despise Muggles altogether. Her father soon perished, seemingly leaving Morgan to Kingdom; however, he needed a male heir to reign, and thus left it to his best friend Merlin.

"Now elderly, Merlin was still as powerful as ever, yet had no interest in being king. He allowed the men of the kingdom to have a chance at gaining the title, something which Morgan loathed him for. The became rivals, enemies of their time at this point, and Morgan retreated to a small island called Avalon, where she practised her arts and grew more powerful."

Pausing to make sure Albus understood, the man continued, "Morgan's half brother, a full Muggle was working on a farm with his Muggle father; his mother and Morgan's had perished giving birth to Arthur. He was chosen by Merlin to rule, as he was pure of heart and a strong-willed man. Merlin became his advisor and good friend, while Morgan finally returned to attack Merlin and take the throne by force."

He grew quite angry, but continued telling his story. "The battle that ensued ended with Merlin and Morgan's death; Arthur continued his rule, wishing his old friend was still there to help him. What he did not know, however, was that Avalon had a single tower in its middle, rising up into the clouds as it sat, invisible to Muggles in the middle of the ocean. Without its queen to rule, Avalon crumbled over time into the sea, and the tower, now so immensely enriched with dark magic that it could move itself, jumped through time and space constantly, developing a conscience and taking hostages to lure those it found worthy into its depths."

Albus was completely awestruck after the tale; he still didn't speak. The wizard's lips curled into a cruel smile, and he said, "It is called the Forbidden Tower, the Ageless Pillar, the Tower of Avalon. I am simply the conciousness of the tower in a physical form to familiarate with you lowly wizards."

Still not fully understanding, Albus asked, "So what, you're avenging your creator, Morgan? Why, over the centuries would this tower appear next to places, take hostages into it and hold them until their loved ones came to help? What's so special about us-- about me?"

Laughing a second time, the man replied, "You? You're the most important of all-- you, like the others are different. _Special_. You are the one I am most interested in, Potter, because greater things are in store for you in your future; things you never dreamed or imagined could be real.

"Everytime this tower lures a wizard or witch into it, it is because the tower knows… it can tell that they are destined for greatness. It knows they can sit atop in in the throne that was once Morgan's, and rule with the power of the Dark Arts as she once did. It is your fate, Albus Severus; some day, no matter how you attempt to avoid it, it will happen. You will meet a crossroads at which you must choose the path of good, which will result in your loss and perhaps even death… or the path of evil, in which you were destined from birth to take. The second will provide you with power beyond your wildest dreams. It is written in the stars, even the centaurs know, that you were destined for greatness."

Albus lowered his wand. "So then, in a way, you're here to help me… take the dark path."

Nodding slowly, the man asked, "What do you think? Will you allow me to help you, to show you the wonder and power of the Dark Arts?"

Albus shook his head. "And if I choose to lose everything, even my life, just to take the path of good… if I provide the ultimate self-sacrifice, what then? What will you do?" The man shook his head incredulously. "Whether this tower is here or not, Albus, you will at some point in your life take the path. The choice will haunt you at some time… if you refuse to face it now, I will have to take your mind by force, possess you and turn you away from all you love against your own will. I will have to choose for you."

Suddenly, his eyes were mirroring Al's emerald green ones; Albus screamed, swearing loudly and yelling, "No! No, I don't want your help! I don't want to be evil--"

"Then I'll _make _you!"

The room dissolved into blackness; Al was floating around at fast speeds, flipping and turning, about to be sick. He could hear the tower's voice in his head, mocking him, speaking to him.

"_You will unlock such mysteries_…" it whispered. "_You will divulge yourself deep into the mysteries of time and love_… _you will fall in love, but your overall choice to turn to evil will take over, and it will mean nothing_…"

Head spinning, Al didn't know what to do; he knew this entity, this darkness trying to possess him was the soul, the life source of the tower. If he could somehow beat it, overcome it, he could destroy the tower once and for all.

**So this is basically the climax, I warn you all that it's not nearly as action-packed as the first story, but I don't think it's too bad. Enjoy!**


	23. Chapter TwentyThree: Mind Over Matter

_**- Chapter Twenty-Three - **_

_**Mind Over Matter **_

Ignoring the loud, almost screeching voice that pounded against his ears, Albus squeezed his eyes shut; this didn't help much, since he still saw clearly, though his mind the images the tower was making him see.

They flashed quickly, and they were all foggy: a boy of about seventeen or eighteen, messy jet-black hair and emerald eyes; he could've been Harry, although he lacked a lightning-bolt shaped scar and glasses. Next, two teenagers, one a girl with red hair and one a blond-haired boy kissing underneath misletoe; finally, a girl with long, dark hair and bright, light brown eyes smiled at Albus, whispering his name.

He tore his eyes open, and focused his mind on Scorpius and Rose, as well as saving himself from the tower's grasp. "I won't…" he whispered. "I won't let you win."

He felt magic bursting out of him, although he had no wand in his hand; suddenly, a freezing cold engulfed him, as if he'd been thrown into ice cold water. He'd been unable to move before, but now he was thrown from the invisible grasp that had held him in his spot. He was lying against the opposite wall, and his eyes opened slowly. The man in Muggle clothes seemed to evaporate with a loud scream of pain; he was no more than a dark cloud of mist, now. Shooting around the square-room, bouncing from wall to wall, until finally it dispersed into nothingness.

Standing up shakily, Albus heard a slight cracking, similar to the sound it made when someone walked on thin ice that started to crack. He froze, looked up and saw dust fall from the ceiling, which was no longer made of dark matter. It was now just plain, solid brick. A crack was forming, becoming larger and larger by the second.

Al saw his fallen wand lying in two pieces on the opposite side of the room. He ran to it, but it didn't even hang by one of the thin unicorn tail-hairs inside it. He sighed, pocketing the fragments and trying not to panic. He was trapped in this dingy, small square room, and the ceiling was just seconds from collapsing on top of him.

There was a loud blasting sound that made Al jump as he paced frantically, trying to think of a way out of the situation. The wall he'd been thrown against had been destroyed in a blast of light; he was on the first floor, the one closest to the ground, of the tower. He jumped toward the rush of cool night air that awaited him, and the ceiling behind him collapsed. The entire tower, from its cone-like top down to the symbol-engraved base collapsed onto itself, leaving nothing but thick dust and a cloud of rubble. The Dementors above had scattered; a silver dragon and manticore were flying toward the fleeing Dementors, making sure they would not return.

Harry had been the one who'd blasted the wall open; he helped Al up, hugging his son while scolding him. "…And if you think this is bad, you just wait until your mother gets her hands on you!"

He released his son from his tight grasp, and Hagrid, Retskope, Ron, Professors Clearwater and Longbottom, and Scorpius and Rose all jogged over to Al. Behind Hagrid, supported by Professors Whitby and Fletchley was Teddy, who looked horribly ill-- but as if he would recover.

Rose hugged her cousin, and Scorpius patted Al on the back. "We were in this room made of smoke--" he said as Harry explained to everyone what had happened (although he hadn't actually been in the tower).

"And it was like a giant Boggart, we could see all our fears, but then we heard this scream and everything went dark. We were back in Teddy's cell, and it was really quiet, so we jumped out the window onto a Thestral-- your Dad pointed it out for us, Al. Then we saw Teddy doing the same from a window beside us."

Albus explained to everyone what had happened; O'Leary arrived halfway through his tale, but Ron filled him in on what he'd missed. After Al finished, O'Leary said to Harry, "The Ministry is on its way, they're agitated I need them back right after they left-- there are reporters for the _Prophet_, too, and everyone's asking what's happened to the tower."

They all watched as the rubble behind them sizzled; it began steaming, as if burning hot, and then became the same liquidy black substance that Al and his friends had encountered inside the tower. It sank into the ground, and left the large patch of grass and bushes beneath it all dead and yellowing.

"Hagrid," said Harry, turning away from the patch and looking at the gamekeeper. "Could you and Hodge dig up this patch of earth? I'll send a few curse-breakers and Aurors to help you… it'll be a cursed spot unless something's done about it. Neville, is there anything you could plant in the soil once it's been purified?"

Hagrid turned to go and get some spades from his cabin and Hodge, while Neville explained to Harry certain types of plants and grasses he could plant.

"As for you three," said Harry, turning to his son, Scorpius and Rose. "Up to the castle, to your common rooms. I don't want any of you talking to those reporters; with our luck there'll be some Skeeters among them. None of you should be pestered, you're all probably exhausted. I'll talk to you in the morning, Al."

Ron spoke to Rose before she accompanied the boys up to the castle; they were guided by Neville, who was off to the greenhouses to get some seeds. Along the way they passed Hodge and Hagrid, both holding spades. Up in the castle, Albus explained to his friends everything that had happened.

"Well, it seems like you used a deep kind of magic to break free," said Rose. "Mind over matter. You broke free mentally, then physically. You saved everyone, Al."

He smiled slightly, then asked, "But I don't get it. The tower kept on saying I was special, and I'd have something other wizards didn't. And remember what Professor Firenze said to us in the forest? 'The One Who Sees'."

Scorpius answered him. "He mentioned your inner eye, too. Maybe it has to do with Divination, Al. You know… prophecies and predictions, all that stuff. That could be your second elective next year."

Albus made a face. "Yeah, that's great; spend the term with Trelawny, the complete wack-job. Our parents all had her and told us they didn't suggest Divination, since it's all rubbish. Besides, Trelawney's a fake; I should take Astronomy with Firenze, and he can help me with everything."

Rose shrugged. "Think about it over the summer, Al; it might be something to consider. I'm going to bed, though, I'm really tired. We're all going to get an earful tomorrow from our mother's, so I should rest while I have the chance."

Al and Scorpius went down to their common room; in their dormitory, Alan and Mitchell bombarded them with questions, all of which Al and Scorpius tried their best to answer. Finally, after recounting the story again, Albus and Scorpius went to bed, soon followed by Alan and Mitchell.

**A.S.P.**

Al awoke late the next morning; all of the students who had left Hogwarts were now returning on the Hogwarts Express. O'Leary organized an assembly around noon, and explained to the students and staff what had happened in the tower. He went on to explain that Harry had concluded the tower had been destroyed for good, and wouldn't be appearing anymore. This was welcomed by ringing applause, to which Albus tried not to think was all for him.

O'Leary concluded the assembly by saying, "And so, let us have an excellent remainder of the year! I believe I owe you all a feast, since the first one of the year was cancelled. So, in light of the events, dig in!"

They'd been expecting this, since there had been plates and goblets on the House Tables. Eating, laughing and discussing the end of the tower, the students of Hogwarts were finally at peace of mind again.

_**The End. **_


	24. Author's Note

_**Author's Note:**_

**Yet another year of difficulty has wrapped up for Al! I enjoyed writing this fic, but I think it could've been better in a few ways-- thanks for the reviews/comments, and constructive criticism. **

**Anyway, The Albus Potter Series will be getting a little more intense in the next few volumes… I guess you could say the series will really 'get going'. Book Three will be up soon, and will be titled 'Albus Potter and the Hall of Prophecy'. It's going to include much more of Retskope and Isaac Sheerbourne, since Retskope is still quite mysterious and Isaac didn't get much of a role in this fic. Any suggestions for the rest of the books in the series are welcome.**

**Happy New Year,**

**-JP. **


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